The Two-Step Goodbye
by DevilForce Fanfiction
Summary: Step 1: Aquire priceless sealbook. Step 2: Accidentally bleed all over the seals. Step 3: Say goodbye. Results may vary. Do not try this.
1. Wop, Wop, Boom-boom Pow

**Sneaky Edited A/N: Story has been cleaned up as best as possible atm. Extraneous notes have been deleted.**

 **Two Step-Goodbye is produced by SneakyDevil and CruelRuin collab**

* * *

 **PROLOGUE START  
**

* * *

Naruto sprinted through alleyways, fleeing his pursuers. They did this every damn time, and he never knew why. His breath rasped as he rounded another corner, hoping not to run into another dead end. Thankfully the path was open. He'd reached the home stretch. He dashed. Just a little further and they wouldn't be able to catch him.

He made it! Looking over his shoulder, he snickered. "That'll teach the—"

Hands clamped down on his shoulders.

He froze, spine stiff in fear.

"Did you really think you could get away from us?"

Well, yeah. Okay, so they _did_ catch him once every ten times, but this time the prank he pulled wasn't even that bad. They weren't angry about a harmless exploding melon, were they? Just a joke, that's all it was! That shopkeeper _shouldn't have short-changed him_.

The irony of that line of thought was lost on Naruto, as the danger some of his pranks carried in them wasn't something someone his age could quite grasp yet. No one, to the young orphan's admittedly poor knowledge, ever got _hurt_ by his pranks. Never did he stop to think _why_ they reacted so negatively to certain pranks...

He slowly turned around, dreading what would meet his eyes once he did. His apartment was mere _meters_ away from where he now stood, yet he knew that he would never be able to make it. The voice he heard was all-too-familiar to him. Too dangerous. Chiba Korefusa and Konishi Mitsuteru. _Shit_.

They were two missing-nin that were all the merchants could talk about for a while. They both joined Konoha a while back by - if he could believe anything he heard - just by walking up to the gate and asking to join. Ever since then it was way harder for him to get away with his pranks. Ten percent harder, but that was still one time more then he would typically be punished.

"You… do know I was born and raised right here, right Naruto?" Chiba spoke, but Naruto would not believe his honeyed words. It was a lure. Many times had Naruto asked to be tutored by them, Chunins that they were. Each and every time, they would deny him. What kind of loyal, village-loving nin could refuse that request of their future Hokage?

"Umm, I've told you, I can't train you cause I'm actually just a recently-promoted Chunin..." reasoned, pointing at his teammate. "Hell, Konishi didn't even pass the exam!"

Konishi gave Naruto a dry glare. "You do know that you've been speaking out loud, right?"

Well, that explained why they could understand his inner monologue. No Genjutsu necessary! Maybe he shouldn't have nicked those hidden special cookies from the stall…

"Anyways, that's beside the point. The Hokage has told us to keep you out of trouble. Being recent hires, if we fail a mission this simple, what hope do we have of advancing in rank?" Konishi complained while Chiba nodded sagely.

"Listen to him, kid. He knows a thing-or-two about failing to advance."

Konishi glared at Chiba. "Oh yeah? Well, I don't have a fancy-schmancy clan skill to my name."

Chiba shrugged. "Hey, don't blame me for your 'humble' beginnings. Ain't my fault you decided not to get into your family business."

The two ninjas continued to engage in their well-practiced verbal routine, something Naruto learned to tune out with practice. This time though, Naruto had already found something exciting, something he hadn't heard of before. Sure, he knew about clans. You couldn't really live in Konoha and not. The fact that clans had super-secret skills...that came as a surprise.

"Clan skills? Oh! That sounds super cool! Do I have one?" Naruto asked, and the ninjas put a quick end to their fight, which at this point had gotten pretty physical.

"Yeah, about that, kid. I always meant to ask you something." The two ninja brushed themselves off and straightened their jackets, "Why in the name of all that's holy do you call yourself an Uzumaki?!" Chiba asked while Konishi tried to hold back a laugh.

Naruto was confused. "Huh? You got a problem with my name? It's my name; it's always been my name!"

Konishi shrugged, "Well, there aren't many Uzumakis around anymore. They kinda all went down with their homeland. We do know how they look, though. They all had hair as red as blood, and a propensity for the sealing arts like no other clan we know of."

"Sealing arts?" Naruto asked. That's all he gained from Konishi's info-dump, and the only thing he really cared about. It sounded super-ninja cool.

Chiba nodded and brought out a scroll from his waist-pouch. He rubbed his thumb over it, and it disappeared into a puff of smoke. When the smoke dispersed, there was a kunai on top of the scroll. "Fuinjutsu, the art of sealing. It's one of the hardest skills for a ninja to master, so most just leave it to the experts… or really old people. It doesn't have much use in combat. You can count all the useful combat seals on one hand."

Konishi slapped his partner on the back of the head, "Don't let Jiraiya hear that you idiot! Just because you suck at seals doesn't mean they're shit!"

Naruto didn't hear a word of that. His concentration hadn't left the kunai since it had appeared. Taking out a weapon from a piece of paper? That sounded like a cool skill to have!

"Teach me seals! I want to learn how to make weapons from paper too!" Naruto pointed imperiously at the duo.

Konishi palmed his face in disappointment. "I… don't even want to explain why that is _so_ wrong. Anyways, didn't you hear Chiba? Sealing is practically useless in battle. Unless you're some sort of prodigy like the Fourth Hokage or dedicate your life to it like Jiraiya, all you'll ever use it for is carrying stuff around."

"Or blowing stuff up." Chiba helpfully supplied.

Wait, so these papers could summon weapons _and_ blow stuff up?! Now Naruto had gained a gleam in his eyes, one that unsettled the two nin quite significantly.

Konishi slapped his partner again, "You moron! The one thing he _doesn't_ need to know!"

"TEACH MEEEEE!" Naruto yelled, surprising the two ninjas. At this point, they knew that Naruto wasn't going to give up. They'd dealt with the brat long enough to know how stubborn he could be. Thankfully, Konishi had a plan.

"Alright, fine. We'll teach you, but on one condition." Naruto nodded eagerly, ready for anything. Konishi pulled out a book from one of his vest pockets and handed it to Naruto. The book itself was unremarkable, covered in cheap animal skins and featuring yellowed pages. "If you can master the seal on the… uh... fifth page of this book, I'll teach you everything I know. Deal?"

Naruto took the book and looked at it with wonderment. He opened the book and noticed that it was handwritten. He had never seen a book like this in his life! He had never read a book in his life either, and that brought him to his next problem.

"Um, I don't know how to read…" Naruto grumbled. Konishi smirked, this was much too easy! Both him and Chiba had tried to make sense of the garbage in the book but had no success. They didn't expect Naruto to make sense of it anyway, but the fact that he couldn't even read it was just icing on the proverbial cake.

"Not my problem kiddo. Do we have a deal?" He asked one more time. Naruto looked at the book, then at Konishi, then back at the book, then at Chiba. Finally, he nodded.

"Deal! I'll read this book, master this seal thingie, then you'll have to train me!"

Konishi nodded. "I'll look forward to it. Now, be a good boy and _try_ not to cause trouble for us. Now, run along!"

As Naruto ran off towards what Konishi presumed to be the local library, Chiba gives his partner a mischievous smile. "You're a genius, Konishi! Naruto's going to be dead-set on getting that seal mastered. He won't have time to do more pranks!"

Konishi nodded. "Well, it isn't like it took much to get him out of our hair. Plus, that book was worthless to me. Kami knows why I picked it up when I did...or think of this before."

Chiba shrugged, "Who cares? Let's go have some dango to celebrate our bright, prank free future!"

Konishi nodded. Sure, giving someone with no chakra-control training a book about seals wasn't the brightest idea, but the two of them had been fairly sure it was just the scrawlings of a madman at this point rather than something actually worthwhile.

Plus, even if Naruto did mess up somehow, what damage would someone with the chakra-reserves of a child even be able to do?

...right?

* * *

Sou Musu was apathetic about her lot in life. Sure, she was the assigned librarian for the Konoha public library. Sure, she had to deal with idiotic civilians and children day in and out. But, at least she didn't have to worry about dismemberment...and it was usually quie-

"Hey! Do you have any books I can read about reading?"

 _What._

It took her a good second to register what she had just heard, and another good second to bend down and actually catch a glimpse of the kid on the other side of her table. Naruto Uzumaki, the prankster himself, in her sacred house of learning and boredom?

Must be an illusion. Could just be her ex messing with her, sending in a henge'd clone. She could reach across the table and punch him, or she could fling a kunai at him and leave him with some bittersweet memories.

Or, she could just ignore him. Yeah, that sounded good.

"Umm, miss? Are you one of... those... people?"

Sou tried her best to ignore the energetic henge. She had no clue that her ex was into method-acting, but his clone certainly did put up a very believable act. Still, she wasn't falling for it.

"Hey! Is anyone else in here? The lady at the desk is deaf!"

That brought her feigned ignorance to a screeching stop. How _dare_ this kid call her deaf? She wasn't even considering the fact that this kid could - in fact - be the real Naruto. Why would that kid ever come to a library, after all?

"I hear you, brat, what the hell do you want?" Sou growled, mustering all the icy-cold contempt she could into her voice. Her face morphed into what her academy-friends once lovingly called 'the ultimate resting-bitch face.' If this didn't get her anger through to her prank-loving ex, nothing would.

"Umm, I want a book about reading!" The kid answered, and Sou finally realized what was going on. No, this wasn't a clone. This was the genuine fucking article, in the flesh, standing in a _library_.

Hence, her anger dissipated, and her boredom returned full-force.

"Yeah, we don't have those here. Try the academy library." She answered, returning to her newspaper. She ran through her words once in her mind and realized one vital fact that she had forgotten entirely. It was too early in the day for any kids to be in the library. It was a weekday, else why'd she be working? That meant that school was on.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class, Naruto?"

The kid's skin paled. He ruffled the back of his head, nervous about being caught. "Y-yeah! Class let off early today! Sensei was sick!"

Sou gave Naruto another disinterested gaze. "Oh, is that so? Well, I'll just give your sensei a call, then. He'd be more than glad to recommend you a book about _reading_."

Naruto slowly and hesitantly started to backpedal out of the building. "Umm, no! I'll just go and get the book myself! Thank you for your help miss!" with that, Naruto turned on his heels and ran out of the library like a man possessed. As the sound of his footsteps petered out, Sou allowed herself a light chuckle.

"Too fucking easy." She reclined back, "Ah~ Silence~."

* * *

Naruto finally got enough paper and some crayons together. If he couldn't _read_ the pages, then he could just copy it right? If those two ninjas couldn't do sealing, then there is no way they could tell he only copied it! He nodded to himself, it couldn't fail.

Of course, there was a fatal flaw in his reasoning, but there wasn't anyone around to tell him that… he wouldn't have listened anyway.

He got everything placed on his table, and some instant ramen cooking as a reward once he finished copying from the book. "Okay, so the seal thing on page uh…" Shit! He didn't know! Naruto frowned, he was never going to get that training now.

But… _'How would they know the difference? I'll just pick uh…'_ He flipped through the pages for a seal that looked like the 'coolest.' "This one!" He shouted, pointing at an overly complex depiction of what could be described as a Gordian Knot tangoing with a Celtic Knot drawn by an over-enthusiastic artist going through an 'Abstract' phase. Even if he forgot to do what they told him, there was no way they wouldn't be impressed by him mastering this!

Sticking out a tongue and grabbing a crayon he 'Carefully' copied the page as accurate as a six-year-old with a dull crayon who barely writes could. What he ended up with could give the most 'interpretive' of art critics a brain aneurysm. He held it up and gave it a critical eye, "Perfect!"

Somehow, he believed it would work.

* * *

It didn't.

Naruto frowned, his ramen ended up burned, and the seal didn't work. This might take more time than he thought.

He eyed the stack of paper he gathered, he...might need more. That was a problem for another time, thankfully. Hence, another brick of instant ramen found its way into boiling water, and another paper took the burden of Naruto's determination-fuelled artwork.

This was definitely going to take some time.

"Gaaaaahhh! Why isn't it working?" Naruto was practically pulling his hair out now.

It was three in the morning, and Naruto had spent almost all day either drawing seals or cooking ramen. Sometimes, combining the two into a rather messy singular activity. He had learned the hard way that ramen seasoning and paper don't mix.

Paper was his problem, specifically the lack of it. He'd run out of paper with the last seal he'd drawn, so this one was sketched into the back of the paper used for one of his earlier attempts. This seal… this seal was special. It was the closest he could get to faithfully reproducing the design in the book. He had to admit now after so long, it looked like dog shit, but from a more art-minded dog… like a poodle.

Still, it refused to work. _Why!?_

Naruto grit his teeth. Maybe, just _maybe_ , he was doing something wrong. Maybe he was missing a step? Maybe the seal in the book was just wrong, to begin with? He couldn't know for sure. It couldn't be his fault, as this copy of the seal had to be his best yet. In the end, it didn't matter, because his anger was rising slowly, like water behind a dam.

A dam that was _this_ close to breaking.

His rage, fueled by the tireless effort he put forth and all the emphasis a child his age would put on it caused Naruto to punch his hand into the seal, and by proxy, the ground. He regretted his decision seconds later when he felt his skin tear over his knuckles. He yelled out and cradled his injured hand with his other. Drops of his blood peppered the paper in front of him, ruining his hard work.

First, he tried hard, and the seal wouldn't work! Now, his hand was bleeding! The anger rose again, and this time, it didn't rise alone.

Unconsciously, dark crimson wisps of malignant energy begun to coat his body as pain racked his mind. He put his bleeding hand down to steady himself, and that was his mistake.

He put his bleeding, energy-coated hand down on the seal that he had just finished, and the scribbles on the paper began to glow… on both sides. If there was a seal master nearby, he'd take this time to lecture Naruto on the subtleties of seal-layering and complexities the process entailed. Or he would take one look at the ominously glowing seal that was overlapped by _another_ ominously glowing seal on the other side… and run like his life depended on it. Which - in this theoretical case - it would.

Sadly, there wasn't one, and Naruto wouldn't ever meet one either.

Rays of light shot out of the paper and forced Naruto to cover his eyes. He tried to stop whatever was happening, Kami knows he tried, but there was only so much a six-year-old cum inexperienced seal master could do, and things had already been set into motion. Wind erupted around him as the light began to intensify. Naruto yelled, but his words were lost in the noise the paper was now emitting.

With a noise like a hundred people saying the word ' **Wop** ,' the light disappeared, taking Naruto with it.

Never to be seen in Konoha again.

The ANBU that was on watch sat there stunned, never having the chance to interfere. He made the better decision of valor and fled the village. The incident wouldn't be discovered for many hours when his replacement watch would come to relieve him.

* * *

He was stumped. No amount of huntsman training could have prepared him for this.

Taiyang had - like every other graduated huntsman - four years in a highly reputable academy. They'd been rigorously trained for every possible scenario they could possibly face, including evacuation procedures for entire metropolitans. Yet, currently, his situation wasn't one any amount of schooling could prepare him for.

Imagine being out-and-about, getting one's daily training in the woods around Patch. Imagine hearing a sound eerily similar to a hundred people saying the word ' **W** **op** ' at the same time. Imagine tracing down said sound and finding a child that looked almost exactly like you did when you were a kid. Now, imagine that situation to be real, yeah... that.

So, Taiyang did what every huntsman was taught to do when faced with the unknown… Consult the one member of your team you believe gives the lowest amount of fucks, for they will have the answer.

Hence, he phoned up Qrow, already dreading the confrontation.

"I swear, Tai, if you've called me in for babysitting duty, I'm going to kill you," Qrow growled as he burst through the door. Unlike Taiyang, Qrow never had an interest in settling down, having a family. He was a huntsman through and through, and like any huntsman worth his name, he noticed the… _anomaly_ … in the room straight away.

The anomaly being the child who looked almost exactly like Taiyang once did...

"... who did you fuck this time?" Qrow asked, weary indignation dulling his eyes as Tai sputtered. He took one more look at the kid. There were no physical injuries on the kid himself, but his right hand was caked in dried blood. The child had no features that could give him a clue as to where he came from, except his striking similarities to Taiyang. "He looks older than the other two kiddos. Who'd you fuck when you were back home, huh? Can't control your dick?."

Taiyang scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, about that. I know you think I'm a womanizer and all, but I'm honestly not kidding when I say that this isn't my kid. I was dating Raven back then, do you honestly think I had the guts or strength to cheat on her?"

Qrow was reminded of his childhood with his dearest sister, and the answer was obvious. "Fair point," Qrow nodded, "plus you're too bad a liar to have kept it hidden this long." He moved the child's head on the pillow, noticing that his face had whisker marks, as opposed to proper whiskers, which wouldn't be odd on a Faunus child. Maybe he had some form of Faunus ancestry? God knows pretty much everyone on Remnant did.

"Plus, he speaks in a language I cannot understand, and I like to consider myself an authority on languages."

Qrow raised his brow, "Tai, there is like...two...three? Four languages tops. And everyone only really speaks one these days."

Tai shook his head. "Yeah, and the one he speaks is unlike any of them or any other that I know."

Qrow grunted. "Yeah, so, you found a kid that looks like you. So either you time traveled, came from an alternate reality, or you had another kid that you never knew about." Qrow delivered a dull glare, "Why'd you think calling me was a good idea?"

Taiyang shrugged. "I dunno. I thought you'd know what to do, considering Summer always asked you for advice when we got stuck."

Qrow groaned. " Yes. Stuck. Killing _Grimm_. Not playing 'Who's your Mommy.'" He sighed, "We were on the same team for _four_ years, Tai. In four years, you were unable to understand the fact that I've only ever provided Summer with one _singular_ piece of advice when it came to anything else."

Taiyang shrugged. "What would that be?"

"Take it to Ozpin, duh."

They both let that hang in the air. Taiyang coughed into his hand, "So...you still showed up when you thought it was going to be babysitting?"

Qrow pinched his nose, "I'm not dealing with this right now." And walked into Tai's room. A soft _whoomph_ followed.

Tai's eyes widened, "He-hey! Not the bed! You are covered in dirt! _I just washed the sheets! Damnit, Qrow!_ "

"Your wifely duties are much appreciated." Came the muffled response.

* * *

Ozpin was a busy man.

To arrange a meeting with the much-renowned headmaster of Beacon Academy, one would have to register an appointment with the academy's PR unit(Glynda) three months in advance. As the date for the meeting would draw closer, it would be delayed by another month every single time(by Glynda). The Headmaster would then make the visitors wait a good eight hours in the academy reception (with Glynda) for no real reason at all. Only then would the person in question get to meet Ozpin (while Glynda hung around).

It was an easy way to make sure that only people in dire need would ever truly make an effort to personally reach out to him (Glynda). So when two of his most well-known and trusted students (Other than Glynda) called him in, citing an emergency, he only took a week and a half to respond (Personally).

Only a week and a half. (Thank Glynda)

He sipped some coffee, this better not be another 'Who's the Mommy' incident. Peter would be insufferable.

"So, umm, we found a kid…"

Ozpin was not a very lucky man. Somewhere in Vale, Glynda smiled.

He sipped some more coffee. It wasn't terrific. Just like this situation.

Taiyang and Qrow both waited for Ozpin's reaction, "Tai, I am...disappointed in you."

Whatever they were expecting, that was not it.

He looked to Qrow, "Do we know who the mother is?"

Tai sputtered, again, " I-I! HE IS NOT MINE!"

Taiyang was not a very lucky man either… in the eyes of some. Apparently, he was an _incredibly_ unlucky guy today, because this was the exact moment when four-year-old Yang succeeds in teaching the next word to Naruto.

"Daddy!" chorused the two kids, as Yang looked at Tai, Naruto's gaze following her's.

Ozpin merely looked at Taiyang with his eyebrow raised as he took another sip of Tai's horribly-made coffee.

Tai's only repose was to place his head in his hands.

Naruto was a lucky boy.

"He gets on pretty well with little Yang, doesn't he?" Ozpin commented. It was obvious to see that both Ruby and Yang felt pretty comfortable around Naruto. Sure, he didn't understand their language, but that didn't stop him from being a sweet friend to the girls.

Taiyang pinched the bridge of his nose. "He's… an extremely independent child. Makes his own meals...or tries to at least, does all his chores himself or at least the ones I can explain with miming, and I've caught him trying to help with both Yang and Ruby too. He's a more effective babysitter than Qrow sometimes if I'm, to be honest."

Qrow growled. "You take that back, I'm an _excellent_ babysitter." A petulant frown graced his face in the most unflattering way. To see a grown-ass hunter of all things malicious to humanity make such a childish expression filled Tai with amusement.

Something he'd missed, ever since Summer's disappearance.

Ozpin nodded. "Well, that settles it. He's actually good at caring for himself, so his chances of being _your_ offspring are slim, even if his looks state otherwise."

Taiyang huffed in relief. "Finally! Someone sees the tru-" It was then that the meaning behind Ozpin's words hit him. "Wait, are you implying that I can't take care of myself?"

Ozpin looked at the kitchen. The dishes piled in the sink. Then turned his head to look at the laundry basket that only made it halfway to the laundry room. Then, he turned back to Tai, "Yes."

Sip.

"... Fuck you, Ozpin."

Ozpin sipped his coffee once again.

"Still, the main issue isn't whether or not the kid's related to you. The main issue is where do we go from here?" Ozpin spoke, pouring himself another cup of coffee. "I can help get him records, but he's too young to join Beacon, even by my standards."

Taiyang snarled, "You… you're suggesting putting him in an orphanage, aren't you?"

Ozpin shrugged. "I can't think of anything else, really. When he's ten, I can get him enrolled in Signal so you and Qrow can keep a closer eye on him."

Taiyang shook his head. "Oz, this kid...I've barely been with him for a week and a half, and I can already tell that he's never had a family. He doesn't need to speak my language to tell me that much."

"He will have a family at the orphanage. He'll have as many siblings as he could ask for." Ozpin countered, and Tai's snarl deepened.

"A family of others like him, kids of huntsmen and civilians who will grow up hating the system that let their parents die. Remind me again how many of these kids get into crime?"

Ozpin was silent, and that silence was all the answer Tai needed. Qrow - on the other hand - was not convinced.

"So, what's your idea then? You gonna adopt the kid when you can barely care for your own?" Qrow countered, and he fully expected Tai to get angry, which is why he was surprised when Tai's snarl turned into a determined grin.

An expression he knew all too well.

"See, now that's what I've been thinking. Naruto's a natural at keeping the kids entertained. He's used to household chores to some extent, and unlike a certain drunkard, is also useful to have around." With every word Tai spoke, his plan became more evident to both Ozpin and Qrow, and they did not like it. There was something in the way Taiyang explained it, though, that caught their eye. This wasn't the defeated Taiyang left behind in Summer's wake. No, this was Taiyang Xiao Long, pro-Huntsman and loving father.

Not even two weeks and the kid had already managed to get the oaf out of his depressive slump.

"So, you plan to adopt Naruto, do you?" Ozpin asked, and Taiyang nodded. "Very well then, grab a jacket, and we'll go to my office and get the paperwork out of the way."

With nary a word, Taiyang shot out of the living room, leaving Qrow and Ozpin alone with the kids. With Tai gone, Qrow gave Ozpin a questioning look. "You… gave in pretty easily. Why?"

Ozpin smiled as he gulped down the remainder of his coffee. "You saw what I saw, Qrow. The child got Taiyang moving again. He did in a few days what we haven't accomplished in months."

"As the saying goes: Time mends all wounds." Ozpin glanced at Naruto miming something to Yang and Ruby, "People can make that time pass faster."

* * *

"So, today's the day, huh?"

Taiyang and Naruto sat in the living room of their house in Patch. Two years was all it took for him to catch up on all things Remnant. As the child that he was, his memories of Konoha were already like a distant fever-dream to him. Why wouldn't they be? Here in Patch, he had a loving father, an eccentric uncle and two amazing sisters and today, he would finally take the first step towards his new dream.

"Yes! I'll become the best huntsman in the world!" Naruto spoke, giving Tai his patented 'thumbs up' pose. Tai gave him a kind smile as he ruffled Naruto's hair.

"Now listen here, Naruto Xiao Long. Aura is as much of a curse as a gift. It will protect you, make your stronger, keep you warm when the world becomes hostile." He spoke, his features hardening ever-so-slightly. "But it will also make you a target. It will make your life harder. You'll become a vanguard for mankind, and it will be your job to keep the darkness at bay."

"Knowing all this, do you still wish to have your Aura unlocked?" He finished and was instantly answered by Naruto's enthusiastic smile.

"Well then, we have an accord," Taiyang spoke, placing his palm on Naruto's head. He remembered the words perfectly, every person who had his or her aura unlocked always did.

Taiyang then said the words that his father had told him when he chose the path of the Huntsman:

" _I name thee: a bulwark against the dark. A torch that guides. From humble beginnings, we forge the path for others to follow. Unafraid of death, we fight to protect. By my words and my action, I lift thee upon the shoulders of the giants past, so you too can become a shoulder for the future."_

Nothing happened. Naruto stood there as Taiyang's expressions went from confusion to thoughtfulness to understanding and then to acceptance.

"Now, that wasn't something I was expecting, really. I must say, I've never seen something like this in my life." Taiyang murmured, confusing Naruto.

"Is everything okay, dad?" He asked, reasonably hesitant. Aura was supposed to make him stronger, but he didn't feel any different.

Taiyang shook his head. "The ritual happened as well as I could have hoped, but the result was… wrong. Your aura feels like it has already been unlocked, yet it feels… different. It doesn't flow like aura is supposed to. It's solid, almost completely so." He looked at Naruto and tried again, this time trying to merely inject his own aura into Naruto's body. Again, nothing happened.

"Yet, your aura is definitely there. It sticks to mine, almost like glue."

Naruto's smile dropped. "Wait, so I can't get Aura?" His fear was confirmed almost immediately as Taiyang shook his head.

"No, you can't get something you already have. We'll visit an aura specialist next week, but I'm not going to lie to you, I don't expect them to say anything different." He answered, and realized that it wasn't the answer Naruto was looking for. Thankfully, Naruto was anything but not tenacious.

"So, does this mean I can never become a huntsman?" Naruto asked, his lips quivering as he held on to one last bastion of hope. Taiyang wanted to tell him the truth, of course. He tried to tell his son that without aura, the possibility of Naruto surviving the life of a huntsman was next-to-none, but he couldn't. A small lie here would go a long way, so he did exactly that.

He lied.

"No, Naruto. You can always become a Huntsman! You'll just have to train twice as hard!" He lied and did so with a simple rationale. No matter what walk of life, Naruto chose, having combat experience would never be unwanted. When he'd grow up, he would realize the truth behind the simple lie and would understand why Taiyang made it.

What Taiyang didn't expect was for Naruto to thank him with a small hug and run off to train…

But..he _did_ have Aura, it was just different. So was it really a lie?

* * *

The jungles surrounding the quaint island-town of Patch weren't really home to many Grimm. The fact that most of the residents of said town were Huntsmen - both active and retired - really helped keep it that way. Sure, the odd oceanic monstrosity did land ashore every once in a while, but hunting it down was generally trivial when over thirty pro-huntsmen got the job.

The place where Taiyang did his morning training was located in these very woods, not very far from the cottage. It was a simple clearing, made by Taiyang himself. As Naruto was a morning person - unlike his sisters - he would watch as his father trained early every morning. Hence, he knew exactly what exercises to do, and how to do them.

Sadly, he wasn't Taiyang: his body wasn't jacked like Taiyang's, and he didn't have the same level of discipline as Taiyang.

Which explained why he lay spread-eagled on the ground, staring at the sky. Training was a lot harder than Dad made it look, but Naruto couldn't deny that it was fun. Every punch he threw made him feel exhilarated, every kick he launched made him feel more alive, and every time he slipped and fell, he felt like a damn idiot.

Still, self-betterment was a process, and he was already handicapped.

"I'm finally getting the hang of this!" Naruto yelled out loud as he was able to follow the forms his father practiced every morning, even though they were kind-of butchered in execution. Given enough time, water, love, and caring, this had the potential of blooming into a new style of combat, all made by Naruto himself, or at least, that what he told himself.

So lost was he in his thoughts that Naruto didn't notice the young Beowolf when it initially ran into the clearing. It wasn't till the Grimm growled at him that he realized that he was - in fact - thoroughly fucked.

To give Naruto due credit, he actually managed to avoid the Beowolf's first lunge. It wasn't an intentional dodge, mind you. Naruto naturally panicked and tripped, allowing to Beowulf to pass through thin air. He scrambled up quickly as the Beowolf turned around, menacingly moving to attack again.

Naruto knew he couldn't survive long. Age-old fight-or-flight instincts informed him that he wouldn't be able to escape either. The Beowolf was lanky and robust, and the forest was its ally. If Naruto turned and ran, the creature of Grimm would be on him in seconds.

The only option was to fight, and with only his sticky/solid aura, the mere idea of that, more or less, was suicidal. Sadly, it was his only option, so he settled into something that half-resembled a combat stance.

This time, when the Beowolf lunged, he rolled.

He was rewarded for his efforts as the Beowolf lost sight of Naruto. He took this chance to sweep the Beowolf's legs out from under him, but it was a mistake. The Grimm's legs were the width of his body, and kicking them only resulted in a dull ache in Naruto's own right shin.

He needed more power, he _needed_ his aura if he was to get away from this alive. Father had told him that his Aura was definitely unlocked, but felt sticky, unlike an average person's Aura. So, if he could grasp it, he could pull it out. Before the Beowolf could regain his bearings, Naruto reached out with his mind, deep into his body, looking for his unique aura.

Unknown to him, he had forced both mind and body to mix.

What came forth was anything but Aura. It was corona of blue, for one, and it didn't feel much like a protective shield like father said it would. It did provide warmth, but not a feeling of security. This… power... he could feel it provide what he wanted.

Raw, unadulterated strength.

Visions of the past ran through his head. He'd seen such a power before. He'd seen the ninja in his old home use something very similar. He didn't remember it's application, he didn't know enough about it to truly understand it, but he knew its name.

"Chakra."

This time when the Beowolf lunged, he felt less like a black blur and more like an easily matched opponent. Naruto was able to sidestep its lunge and plant his right fist directly into its jaw.

It gave way instantly.

Naruto's fist eviscerated the Beowolf's head, it didn't just crush its jaw, it fragmented his entire upper body. Sadly, that wasn't the only thing it fragmented.

"Aaaaagh!" Naruto yelled as he felt his right arm collapse, his muscles torn at the sudden exertion and his bones snapped unable to handle the pressure. The pain racked his mind, and the terror drew other Grimm to the clearing. Subconsciously he pulled on his Chakra, wanting nothing more than the pain to stop...for his arm to be healed.

Something chained deep inside him answered his plea.

It didn't come out as smoothly as his chakra had, neither was it blue and warm. It was red, deep crimson. It felt far more sinister and wasn't quite as ethereal as his own chakra. Most importantly, it felt foreign, like Naruto was drawing from a source that wasn't his own.

Most of all, it was agonizing. The Crimson power ran hot through his body like he had jumped into an open fire, yet healing him as fast as it hurt him in an unending cycle.

It was like a pain one couldn't get rid of, but the power that came with it was _exhilarating._

This time, the Grimm looked like they were moving in slow motion. Another punch landed, and another grim was utterly demolished. His fist shattered on contact, but healed almost instantly, only to be lodged into an Ursa's gullet, leaving a hole as wide as a tree-trunk. Naruto moved through the Grimm, and they fell like flies.

He felt invincible. The power ran through his system like a drug, making him want nothing more than to beat down his enemies in front of him.

It was at the ninth Grimm - another Beowolf - that his body finally gave way.

The red chakra disappeared within a second, leaving his body feeling leaden yet again. This time, though, he didn't even have the energy to stand up. He fell to his knees, and his face hit the ground. From his position, he couldn't see the Beowolf, only hear it's rasping snarl as it moved in for the kill. He braced for the hit.

The hit never came.

He heard a pained snarl first, then another, then a whimper that sounded like a death rattle. Within seconds, the clearing was silent again, and Naruto felt a hand grab the back of his neck and set him upright. Finally able to see, his eyes met eyes just as blue as his own.

"Daddy…" Naruto whimpered. Taiyang stood in front of him, his gauntleted hands smeared in the black blood of the Grimm held Naruto's face gingerly.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto. I should have realized that Grim had breached our walls. I let you get in danger. I'm so sorry."

Taiyang hugged Naruto, who was completely confused. He couldn't - for the life of him - figure out how any of this was his father's fault. Young Grimm got into the township every now-and-then. Why'd his father blame himself for it?

"Dad, why're you sorry? It was a coincidence! Plus, Grimm are attracted to sad and bad things!" Naruto pulled away from the hug and gave his father a smile, letting him know that he didn't blame him.

"Sad and bad things, huh? That's an interesting way for your aura to manifest." Taiyang spoke, a strained smile on his face. Again, Naruto was confused by Taiyang's words, until he was able to put two-and-two together.

"Wait, dad. Are you saying that the Grimm were attracted to my Chakra?" He asked. Taiyang shook his head.

"Well, I saw you manifest this… 'chakra' for the first Beowolf." He answered, letting Naruto know that he'd actually been there all along. "It was calm, serene. Sure, it felt volatile, unlike aura, but similar in many aspects. What I'm talking about, Naruto is that red… shell… you manifested when you got injured."

Naruto nodded. "I don't know where that power came from, daddy. It came from inside me… but not from me…"

Taiyang rose an eyebrow. Two sources of energy in the same body, each that felt like a complete opposition of the other. He had heard of people with multiple personalities developing similar but different Semblances but this... What exactly was this 'Chakra,' though? By the confused look on Naruto's face, Tai could already tell that he wouldn't be getting any answers from the confused boy.

The power itself was fascinating. Naruto had expelled that power from his body explosively, and the kind of strength it provided him beggared belief. Sadly, it was too volatile - unlike aura - and Naruto's body would need a lot more conditioning to make good use of it. Even the red energy could be useful if Naruto learned how to keep its negativity amplification in check.

It had - after all - helped an eight-year-old kid with no combat experience cut right through a horde of Grimm. It would be a shame to let such potential go to waste.

"Well then, Naruto. Let's get you to bed." Taiyang spoke as he picked up his eldest child. Naruto groaned. Of course, he would. It was six in the evening, and even though he was physically exhausted, he was still a kid. Of course, he would want to stay awake and play until the last minute he could.

"No arguing, Naruto. Tomorrow, we're going to train before you go to school!" Taiyang promised, and Naruto's grumbling stopped immediately, replaced by curiosity.

"I'm going to be training with you, daddy?" he asked, and Taiyang nodded. There was no time to be lost. Naruto's power was great, but it lacked a defensive component. Before Naruto went off to a huntsman academy, he would have to train.

And train. And train. And train. With that powerful healing and strength it granted him, the only thing holding him back was how long he could use it for. Taiyang was going to try his damndest to see his son running laps around him by the time he was done with him.

* * *

Taiyang frowned, it was happening again. The training with Naruto had done him good, and he proved to be a good and scaling opponent for the girls. He looked over the spar again to confirm his fears, yep, it was happening again.

To help Naruto train his endurance and to support the girls by balancing the scales and make them work on their teamwork, he would have them double team against Naruto. It worked...until Naruto got used to the girls and then all three would plateau as Naruto would just eventually outlast them.

He sighed, it was a never-ending cycle over these past four years. Ruby and Yang would try something new and take Naruto by surprise. With each spar, Naruto would get better at countering the new plan. Then it would be back to square one, where Ruby and Yang cover each other too well but Naruto knows all their moves.

Unstoppable force, immovable object.

"You have to-" Naruto ducked under Yang's kick "-try harder-" A sidestep took him out of Ruby's trajectory. "-than that." A kick was launched, posted and delivered into Yang's abdomen, sending her crashing into her dear younger sister.

"If you plan to take me." He finished, gloating as his sisters scrambled to their feet. He was bruised and battered, sure, and his sisters looked positively immaculate. To the casual observer, he'd look like the fighter on the losing side, but for someone experienced - like Taiyang - things appeared differently.

Ruby and Yang were running on the fumes of their Aura, while Naruto still had a good twenty minutes of high activity left. While Naruto was susceptible to injury, he healed at a rate that made medics redundant. Sure, every spar meant that Naruto was pretty much putting his life on the line, but that was the core of a huntsman's life in general and the path he chose to walk.

In Taiyang's mind, it was a lesson Naruto learned quick.

However, now it was obvious that Ruby and Yang had something up their sleeves. Today had been a rather remarkable spar. Never had Taiyang seen Yang willingly take so many hits while making sure Ruby took as little as possible. Generally, it was the faster Ruby running interference while Yang scouted for openings.

His conjecture was proven correct when the two girls winked at each other, and Ruby hunched over like a greyhound, ready to lunge at Naruto.

"Going all out, huh Ruby?" Naruto moved into a defensive position, eyes trained completely on Ruby. What was her game here? She was a fast little scamp, sure, but Naruto had already proven to be faster when needed. There was no way a reckless charge would go unpunished. Naruto spaced out his feet, ready to sidestep and counter.

He didn't even see Ruby move.

A literal flesh, bone and rose-petal missile slammed into his chest. At this speed, had Ruby been any larger than she was, she'd have broken something. Naruto was able to pivot just enough for the Ruby-missile to not carry him off. It was then that he realized that he'd momentarily lost vision of Yang.

That was never a good sign.

"Looking for me?" Yang's voice was too loud, too close for comfort. When he finally faced his sister, he saw something extremely different. It looked like her entire body was on fire. The smile on her face made it very clear that she felt no pain.

The fist closing in on Naruto's jaw promised that he would definitely feel pain.

The fist's impact could be likened to being struck by a cannonball. A hundred-pound cannonball, shot from a rail-gun, at point-blank range. Naruto didn't fall, he flew. He felt his Jaw shatter, followed by his shoulder-blades as he crashed through a tree. He didn't stop there as his body bounced off the ground and finally crashed into a much larger, older tree.

As he passed out of consciousness, the last thing he was was his family running towards him.

* * *

It took Naruto a full week to recover.

A full week, for someone who had a natural healing factor that could give self-healing semblances a run for their money. Thirty broken, cracked, or fractured bones, a jaw that looked like shards of broken glass and pulverized shoulders. Thankfully, with a light application of the Crimson Chakra, his healing not only sped up but also seemed to come with a guidebook for the body when it came to putting his bones back together. Which also hurt an unbelievable amount as the bones shifted in his body, causing new internal wounds. _Yay._

Taiyang had been furious about the whole ordeal. Not only had the girls hidden their semblances from them, but they had also decided - in their infinite wisdom - to train them in absolute secrecy. The result had ended up giving Naruto injuries that would normally signify the end of a huntsman's career.

Yang and Ruby were horrified. Sure their older brother seemed to bruise, cut, and scrape like he didn't have Aura shielding, but he had always recovered super fast. Never before had he taken so long to heal, _'and never before did I hurt big Brother so badly'_ Yang thought glumly. It had taken Tai the whole week Naruto was recovering, especially near the end where he looked no worse for wear, to convince Yang to even think about punching anything again.

Yet, Naruto was stronger for it, if not a bit jealous. He knew he didn't have Aura the same way the rest of his family did, and that no one else had access to this Crimson Chakra of his, but the jealousy was there.

Normally, whenever his cute little sisters unveiled a new tactic he would just go and train harder to counter it...but how do you counter a Semblance that makes you hit harder the more you are hit? How do you counter instant speed? He had a week of doing nothing to think it over. Training harder wouldn't cut it anymore. It was a grudging realization that he came to near the end of his mind-numbing recovery. He couldn't make a mistake like this again in a spar.

 _What if he died next time?_

It was something over the years he had come to terms with. Death. He didn't have a shield to protect him, only his healing...and healing wouldn't matter if his head was crushed or if his heart was destroyed.

 _He needed to fight smarter…_

Naruto glanced down at his healed hand, no sign of the damage that started it all. His Chakra could do things Aura couldn't. Aura could do things Chakra can't...or could it? Dad told him his Chakra still felt somewhat like Aura, just stickier and more solid.

Stickier...Naruto grinned. He knew what to test first.

* * *

After making his way to his now quite worn and personalized clearing, Naruto put his foot on a tree. Maybe his Chakra would help him stick to it? So he just...pushes his Chakra into the tree with his feet? With that simple thought and a bit of concentration, the Chakra flowed from his foot into the bark underneath.

The only warning he had that something may have been amiss was the _Crack_ that reverberated through the clearing. It was only seconds later the general area he injected the Chakra into violently exploded, sending him rocketing across the clearing.

With a resounding boom, the tree he had been practicing on crashed to the ground, it's trunk having been reduced to pulp.

Naruto gulped as he got up. The explosion - for all its severity - had barely scuffed him. This was the byproduct of pumping too much chakra into his legs. As his chakra had gone through into the tree, though, he had felt the 'stickiness' that his father spoke of. So, maybe the entire problem behind his approach was the abundance of chakra?

Convinced that the reason was that simple, Naruto began to try again. If he succeeded, he'd gain an advantage both inside and outside of combat. If he failed, his father wouldn't have to cut trees for a few weeks.

It was a win-win situation, so he'd better get started.

* * *

"Alright kids, line up."

Naruto did so. He was super stoked for this class. For one, it was his first class with Uncle Qrow. Secondly, he'd been taken weapon-shopping by father last evening. He got to pick out a weapon for himself. After an hour of browsing, and much helpful advice from Ruby, he had picked up a katana. It wasn't an expensive weapon, but it had been authentically crafted, with its metal being folded a thousand times to guarantee its strength.

"Alright, kids. Welcome to weapons training. Congratulations on picking the Huntsman electives for your course, I hope you signed the waivers that came with." Qrow drawled. It was rare to see his uncle sober, even more so to see him up this early in the morning. A TA then came around to pick up the waivers they were supposed to get their parents to sign.

The TA passed the stack of waivers to Qrow, who put them away without giving them another look. "Good, you kids and your parents have just given me express permission to make your coming four years absolute, living hell. Don't worry, you'll be stronger for it… I guess."

 _Real reassuring, Uncle Qrow._ Sure, Naruto could tell that his uncle was simply trying to gauge their convictions. After all, the premier Huntsmen academies only took the best-of-the-best, and training over a hundred students to get to that level was a technical impossibility.

In the end, only the best would get that coveted letter of recommendation.

Tired of the students mumbling to each other, Qrow slammed his hands on his desk. He was rewarded by instant, pin-drop silence. "So listen up, kids. Treat today's class as a taste-test. If you can't stomach the training I'm going to put you through, I'd consider not showing up next week."

Qrow then got off his desk and walked into the middle of the arena. His weapon looked wicked in his hands. Just to add a sinister effect, he had it transformed into its scythe form. While Naruto didn't respect scythes quite as much as Ruby did, he did have to admit, there were few weapons in this world that looked as intimidating.

"Now, I need a volunteer. Get someone into the arena now, or I'll pick one of you to fight." Qrow sat down on the ground, laying his scythe on his lap. Now, he would wait. In all his years of teaching, never had the class ever produced a 'volunteer.' He couldn't blame them, after all. Not many kids had the guts to face a pro huntsman.

"I'll go!"

But of course, this year was an exception, or at least, his nephew was.

"Alright, Naruto. If that's how you want to play it, I'm game." Qrow spoke as he stood up. He hadn't seen Naruto for the better part of the year, and the kid had grown. He stood at a good 5'7 at the age of fourteen. Tai's training was showing through in the kid's build. If Naruto ever decided that he didn't want to become a Huntsman, he'd have a pretty great career as a male model.

"I've been waiting for this, Uncle Qrow," Naruto spoke as he drew his katana. Qrow raised an eyebrow.

"Have you named your weapon yet, Naruto?" He asked. Naruto shook his head.

"I will…" He smirked, "after I beat you." He boasted, his smile brimmed with confidence, and it irritated Qrow immensely.

"We'll see about that," Qrow answered, leveling his Scythe with his body. Naruto gripped his sword with both hands, ready to react. Qrow shot forward with Naruto was ready to intercept.

What he didn't expect was for Qrow's scythe to bisect his katana.

Naruto just stared dumbly at his already destroyed weapon, "Bwuh?"

Qrow relaxed back into a hunch as he turned to the class, "Rule #1 of being a Huntsman: Always make sure your weapon is in proper maintenance and stress tested before you bring it into the field."

At this point, Naruto seemed to have snapped out of his stupor, "Bu-But! One thousand folds!" He just couldn't wrap his head around the sword just being cut in half like a stick of bamboo.

Qrow leveled him an unamused stare, "Typically the one thousand folds is due to poor quality metal being used to make it. You don't block with a katana."

"Oh, okay." Naruto conceded, and started making his way back to the stands. His instincts screamed at him to dodge, so he did. It saved him a deal of injury as Qrow's scythe slammed into the same patch of ground that h was standing on moments ago.

"Rule #2: A fight isn't over until the Grimm has dissipated or your opponent is unconscious," Qrow answered, swinging his scythe again. Naruto dodged it by a hair's breadth, surprising Qrow with his speed. The ground below Naruto exploded as he dodged back, disorienting Qrow and allowing Naruto to gain some distance. This was new, definitely new.

"That's how it's going to be, huh?" Naruto answered, taking a combat pose that Qrow did not recognize. "Well then, that's how we'll play this. Fair warning, though-"

Qrow barely got a tenth of a second to block Naruto as he blurred from his position, blowing up the ground below him as he did. By the time Qrow managed to raise his scythe to guard his face, it was almost too late to block Naruto's fist.

"- even Dad takes me seriously now."

The force behind the blow was much greater than Qrow expected. He was actually flung back by it. By the time he stabilized, Naruto was already in his blind spot. So he decided to do exactly as Naruto asked him to.

He got serious.

Qrow took one step to the side, reading Naruto's blow. The power behind the attack was great, but once launched, it took too long for him to retract his fist. Qrow brought down the flat of his scythe and caught Naruto on the side of the face. The deflection, coupled with Naruto's own momentum, was enough to send the kid veering off.

"You're fast, Naruto, but I'm faster." Qrow boasted. Sure, he didn't have Summer's speed, but he was the second-fastest person on the strongest team to graduate Beacon. He was proud of that fact too.

Naruto stabilized his landing and wiped the blood that trickled from his mouth, "I convinced Dad to let me call my style the Two-Step Goodbye." He smirked, "Wanna see why?"

Qrow narrowed his eyes, that was a cocky name for a fighting style, but if Tai was convinced…"Sure brat, hit me with your best shot."

Naruto readied himself, "One.." and vanished. Truly vanished as far as Qrow was concerned, _'What the-_.'

-and reappeared in front of Qrow, his first already driving into Qrow's stomach.

"Two." A bright blue corona of energy exploded from Naruto. Qrow knew what was about to happen and couldn't do a thing to stop it, stuck reeling from the cheap shot.

Naruto's blazing first connected with Qrow face, rocketing him back and through the wall.

Naruto stood there huffing, the classroom silent in both awe and terror, slowly the realization of what just occurred seeped into him. Holding a fist in the air, he cheered, "I Wo-" A cheer which was abruptly cut off as loose ceiling finally gave up and fell right on to his head, knocking him out.

Qrow hobbled back in through the hole, more or less fine with only minor scuffing, to see Naruto sprawled on the floor unconscious with the loose debris next to him. He sighed, "I've been telling them that needed to be fixed for a while now, ah well."

He looked back up to see the class just staring at him, "Class dismissed, see you next time...or not."

As they all filed out of the classroom, he redirected his attention back to his nephew out cold on the floor. "Don't think I didn't see what you did there Naruto. Seems I need to have a talk with Taiyang."

 _Copying his sisters' semblances?_ Qrow shook his head, _This kid is going to be a monster by the time Beacon rolls around._

* * *

Ruby internally Squee'd.

Life could not be better.

It was her first 'official' day at Beacon. She had braved the Emerald Forest, she had brought back a relic, she had been paired with a bratty, yet competent, partner and her sister was on her team too!

Nothing could ruin this day! _Nothing at all!_

"There's another announcement we have to make," Ozpin spoke from his podium in his lazy drawl-of-a-voice. "Due to the high number of applicants we have accepted this year, we have requisitioned the aid of one of our fourth-year huntsmen to work alongside Miss Glynda Goodwitch, who will be teaching the first and second year's combat classes."

"A fourth year that has been requisitioned by the academy? Must have been an honors student." Weiss commented, listening to Ozpin with rapt attention. For some unknown reason, a pit of despair started to well in Ruby's stomach. A fourth year? She knew a fourth year.

"Part of team ORNJ, the winners of the fortieth Vytal Festival Tournament." Ozpin continued, and the pit in Ruby's stomach continued to grow.

"It can't be him! I mean, I wouldn't mind if it was him… but he's a battle nut! I don't wanna train all day again!" Ruby moaned, much to the surprise of Weiss and Blake.

"He's a fourth year, Ruby, how could training with him be bad for us?" Blake asked, genuinely curious.

"Hey, Blake, can you do more than one thousand push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and twenty miles of dashing just for a warm up?" This time, it was Yang who spoke. Blake and Weiss looked at her and were instantly shocked by how pale she'd suddenly gotten. It almost felt like she's seen a ghost.

"Umm, I don't think any normal human can do that, Yang." Blake countered, vaguely disturbed by the question. Yang shook her head.

"He can, and if he gets his way, you will too." She answered. "I love him to bits, but if he's going to be training us like he did before he went off to Beacon, I think I'm going to die."

"Naruto Xiao Long." Ozpin finished, but no one appeared on the stage.

"Boo."

Team RWBY almost shot out of their seats when the face of a blonde, blue-eyed boy appeared between Ruby and Yang. Before the team could react, the blonde simply _disappeared_ …

...and appeared on the stage with a small scattering wind of green leaves, waving at the gathered first years.

"Nice to meet you all, kiddos. I'm going to make life hell for you. You'd better believe it!" Naruto spoke, with a cheery smile on his face. The majority of the class knew him from his interview at the end of the last Vytal festival, and they mistakenly believed him to be a friendly fellow that they would easily get along with.

Ruby and Yang knew better.

"We're so screwed." Ruby whimpered, even as she smiled.

"Yes, completely fucking screwed." Yang supplied, with the exact same expression on her face.

Blake and Weiss finally made the connection. Yang Xiao Long, Naruto Xiao Long. One of the teachers was officially related to two of the members of their team. This meant they'd get special treatment.

Little did they know, they'd come to dread this 'special treatment' in the months to come.

Naruto just looked at his two oh so loveable sisters and beamed.

* * *

 **PROLOGUE END**


	2. Judge, Jury, Execution I

**Judge, Jury, Execution Arc: I**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2: Naruto of the Electric Boogaloo**

* * *

"You cannot be serious about this, Ozpin. You're recalling me from active duty?"

An irate Naruto sat in Ozpin's office, a desk separating him from the man in question. Thankfully, the desk was a large one. Unfortunately, it wouldn't provide him much defense if Naruto decided to jump across it. It wasn't a very defensive piece of furniture.

That was the coffee mug's job.

"You have more than thirty registered missions on your resume, Naruto. You've been working tirelessly over the last four years - summer breaks included - in honing your craft. What's there to fear about a little rest and recreation? You'll also get valuable experience in teaching, which seems to be your family profession - all things considered." Ozpin reasoned, sipping his coffee. On the other side of the table, Naruto had already gulped his mug of hot cocoa.

Ozpin had learned a while back that it was not a smart decision to give Naruto coffee… at Glynda's expense.

"You and I both know that's a bullshit reason, Oz. I'm your most effective field agent bar uncle Qrow. What would you gain from cooping me up in Beacon?" Naruto asked, and Ozpin smiled.

"The kids would find it interesting and lucrative to be taught by a recent Vytal festival winner, for one. Secondly, you could keep your eye on both Yang and Ruby, and thirdly, in case something happens, you'll be on-call to deal with it." Ozpin stated, doing nothing to assuage Naruto's concerns. Instead, it dumped proverbial fuel into the fire that was Naruto's temper.

"Firstly, yeah, they'd like that. But Glynda won _two_ Vytal festivals, and _no one_ likes her!" Naruto murmured, before getting serious. "As for Ruby… I don't know what you have planned for her, but keep her out of this. I trust you, Oz, but I don't want any harm to come to my baby sister."

"As for troubles. Who in their right mind would want to attack Beacon?" He finished, and he noticed Ozpin's smile drop a bit… then a bit more.

"Ermm…" Ozpin hesitated, and Naruto found it hard to believe that this man was in charge of the development and training of the upcoming generation of Remnant's defenders.

" _What_ did you _do,_ Ozpin?" Naruto demanded with righteous fury in his eyes. The headmaster had the decency to lower his gaze in response.

"You remember Amber… the Fall Maiden, right?" He asked, and Naruto nodded. "Well… she isn't as dead as I led you to believe."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You haven't given her a secret name and enrolled her in the academy, have you?" Thankfully, Ozpin shook his head. Naruto sighed in relief. Who was he kidding? Ozpin knew well enough that Beacon wasn't a place to hide out individuals under Ozpin's idea of 'witness protection.'

"Her comatose body is currently located in a secret underground vault, waiting for a recipient for her maiden powers."

To his credit, Naruto only slammed his head into the table hard enough to leave an indent. Ozpin really didn't want to get a new one brought in. That kind of requisition would amount to a metric shit-ton of paperwork.

He _really_ did not like paperwork.

"So, let me get this straight. You have a comatose, highly attractive, teenage girl locked up in your basement." Naruto spoke, his tone firm, his eyes blank. Ozpin put down his cup and thought about the exact way Naruto's question was worded.

"When you say it like that…" Ozpin looked away from Naruto's gaze. "You make it sound far worse than it is."

Naruto wasn't moved, "Oh I'm sorry, let me rephrase that: You have a half-dead, comatose, highly attractive, teenage girl locked up in your basement who is being actively hunted by someone who apparently wants to bring about an extinction event. Meanwhile, you, the Headmaster of an academy filled with extremely fit and attractive women, will be 'observing' them to see which one you want to shove said half-killed girl's soul into."

Naruto paused to level another glare at the now reasonably guilty and disturbed looking Ozpin. "At least, I'm assuming that last bit, but from your face, I can tell I was in the ballpark."

Ozpin coughed into his hand. "Yes, you are correct in your assumptions, Naruto. The process will not be natural. Sadly, If Amber dies before this process is completed, her assailant's wish will be granted. So, I brought her here, to one of the world's best-defended bastions of humanity. I need you to be here because this time, our opponent isn't a low-level thug or a simple-minded Grimm."

Naruto rose an eyebrow. "Is this related to that 'queen' character you had me look into?" Ozpin nodded.

Naruto was silent for a moment. "I swear to whatever gods you might believe in Oz if I find out Yang or Ruby are involved in _any_ of this…" His eyes flashed red, "We will find out _just_ how large of a skill-gap remains between us."

"You have my solemn promise that I will not let any harm come to your sisters under my watch," Ozpin promised, picking up his cup again. "Although, I'll be entrusting the safety of Vale as a whole partly to your hands."

Naruto sighed, "Ozpin. I'll do it, but on two conditions."

"Name them." Ozpin did not miss a beat.

"Condition one, I work with Glynda, and I get to design my coursework. We - as students - had time to develop on-field skills. If these kids are in enough danger to warrant bringing me back to protect them, I want them to be better prepared."

"That can be arranged, and will actually be quite welcome," Ozpin answered. "Why Glynda, though? She doesn't particularly seem to like you, and the sentiment seems to be mutual."

Naruto shook his head. "Oh no, I love dear Glynda. I just believe she'd be a better teacher if she got rid of that stick that's up her ass." Naruto leaned back in his chair. "As for why her? She's the only teacher that deals with the practical aspects of being a huntsman. I love dear Peachy, but all she cares about is studying plants and animals."

Ozpin nodded. "That's a fair demand. I'll see to it that you get what you need. What about your second demand?"

Naruto leaned in, getting as close to Ozpin as the table would allow. "Second, Ozpin, is that I want you to come clean about this entire situation. I don't appreciate being kept in the dark about things Uncle Qrow knows."

Ozpin sighed. "I hope you have time, Naruto. This is going to be a long explanation."

Naruto leaned back in his chair again. "Going senile on my already, Old Man? You canceled all my active missions. I have nothing but time."

Ozpin walked over to his beverages machine, picking up Naruto's cup as he went. He filled up both cups, Coffee for himself, more hot chocolate for Naruto. He then offered the cup back to the young adult and eased himself into his chair.

"So Naruto, tell me. Do you believe in fairy tales?"

* * *

Pyrrha Nikos was enjoying her choice to go to Beacon. Her team leader was adorkable. Her teammates treated her with no fanfare. To them, she wasn't Pyrrha Nikos, Four-time champion of the Mistral Cup. To them, she was simply Pyrrha Nikos, teammate, and friend.

She liked that. She _really_ liked that.

It wasn't just her team either. Team RWBY - except for Weiss - treated her normally too. Sure, the Mistral cup wasn't as prominent in Vale as it was in Mistral and Atlas, but her advertisements, training videos and interviews were televised worldwide. So, either her classmates just didn't care, or were disillusioned by the charms of celebrity status.

To some extent, she could understand Weiss and Jaune's disinterest. Weiss was from the Schnee family, and Jaune was an Arc. Nora and Ren were always lost in their own respective worlds, so they checked out too. Blake almost felt like an outsider looking into a world that was not her own, so her apathy was understandable as well.

Ruby and Yang, she initially didn't understand. Ruby was in the age-demographic for most of her female fans, and Yang apparently loved combat and competition. Initially, she didn't know how they could feign such nonchalance. She gratefully put aside the reason and just thanked the gods that they treated her as they would anyone else.

It all became apparent when she realized that both Yang and Ruby were closely related to Naruto Xiao Long.

The man was a prodigy. The thirty-ninth Vytal festival tournament had a loaded roster of fighters, with Atlas being the favorites to win, considering they had the eldest Schee sibling and the Arc twins. Beacon had the lowest odds, with no 'popular' contestants within their ranks.

This preconception lasted until Team ORNJ took the stage.

There was no polite way of putting it, every member of that team was a had all been given fan-names by the end: Ochre Neul, the Huntress of Flames. Rouge Niels, the Queen of Illusions. Jasmine Amir, the Relentless Juggernaut…

… and finally, Naruto Xiao Long, The Smiling Killer.

They knocked out the premier team from Vacuo without suffering a single blow in the four vs. four. They eliminated the Arc twins in the two vs. two with Naruto taking the offensive while his team leader, Jasmine, didn't move from her original position.

It wasn't till the finals, though, that they became legends for their generation.

The One vs. One between Naruto Xiao Long and Nero Crimson, the Pride of Mistral. Nero, who was the one responsible for eliminating Winter Schnee, the Rising Star of Atlas. The video of that final fight would go on to become the most-played video on ScrollTube for four entire months. For a ten-second clip, it gathered a massive following.

What the video did was show Naruto's fighting style in action, and his signature move, what he called the Two-Step Goodbye.

Nero Crimson never stood a chance, and it was the first One vs. One fight to last less than a minute - that too by quite a margin.

It was where he earned his fan-name as well, Nero was hospital ridden for weeks and had faded into obscurity. There was a single interview with Nero when he was finally taken off the heavy painkillers that sealed it. When asked if we wanted to try for a rematch against Naruto in the future, he shook his head, "If I can help it I'll never be in the same room as that smiling killer, let alone fight him again." Nero declined further comments.

That victory overshadowed the final round-robin tournament. There were a few interviews with Team ORNJ, a few of Naruto, but then came the silence.

No branding, no tv-commercials, no corporate tie-ins. The man… disappeared.

Here he was now, teaching a class in Beacon without even having completed his schooling.

Pyrrha was dragged out of her thoughts by Naruto's entrance to the center of the Area.

"Alrighty ladies and germs, can you all hear me?" He didn't shout, he didn't need to as the whole class had quieted down the second he started approaching the raised dais. "Good good, Nice to see you kids here." Her pride stung at that, and by the look of it, several second years felt the same. He flashed a smile, "M'name's Naruto Xiao Long, I'm sure maybe a few of you have heard of me." Cue some chuckles and light amusement from the crowd. Pyrrha had to admit, it wasn't much, but he certainly could control a crowd of students.

Then, he got serious. "Normally, Glynda would be here to give you a lecture. We aren't doing that. Instead, thanks to me, we are going to learn the finer points of fighting people." The looks of confusion were only on the scattered few of the first years, like Ruby.

"For those who are unobservant or unaware, most of my techniques and my fighting style is based around combat against other aura-wielders." She knew that. She was in the same position as him after all, what good was Polarity manipulation when your enemies don't use metal?

"Now, I could lecture you about morality, ethics, and fighting together against the _real_ enemy...but I won't bother. You either should have realized that by now, or Glynda and I will beat it into you by your third year."

"Now, I can see you eyes are dropping already, maybe Port has rubbed off on me. So let's get to the main attraction today." While some of the first years were confused, all the second years broke out into snickers.

So distracted was she, Pyrrha didn't see Naruto grinning in her direction. "Pyrrha Nikos! Come on down here and let's give them a show!"

Pyrrha was confused. Was Naruto calling on her for a battle? _Why?_

Naruto shook his head. "Now now, don't be afraid. I simply want to demonstrate something to the class, and what better way to do so than by orchestrating a battle between two champions?"

Pyrrha nodded, putting up her unflinching visage. She'd seen Naruto's fights, she'd seen his interviews, she knew his fighting style, she knew his opening moves. _The real question is if I can act on any of it..._

What she'd seen of Naruto painted him as an all-rounder. He was disturbingly fast, devastatingly powerful and intelligent enough to improvise. While a part of her was hyped for this confrontation, another bit of her dreaded it equally.

"Go Pyrrha! Kick his butt!" Nora helpfully provided from her seat on the other side of Ren. Her entire team was looking at her with confidence-boosting, belief-filled gazes.

Meanwhile, Yang and Ruby were looking at her like she wasn't long for this world.

She shook off that look and walked past them, taking the steps on to the arena two at a time. Naruto surely noticed her enthusiasm, but he probably saw her dread too. He spoke no words, choosing instead to wear the two wicked-looking, heavy gauntlets. All this while, she was coming up with her plan.

The Two-Step Goodbye, as far as she knew, was exactly as the name suggested. Two punches, the first to soften an enemy and shock them enough to let their aura shields fall, and a follow-up hit with enhanced strength, meant to crush the opponent in this state of defenselessness.

She readied her weapons, Milo and Akouo rose to their stance positions, ready to defend and attack.

Right as the screen behind them came to life, and their aura meters filled up, Pyrrha caught a glimpse of the thing that scared her personal hero, Nero Crimson, into quitting his career as a pro-fighter.

That bone-chilling smile…

They both crouched. She readied her shield as subtle as possible. It was a well-known part of his style to go for a nasty, stunning blow first.

He _disappeared_ , she moved her shield, feeling the metal flying at her like a gunshot and-

-a metal spike tapped her nose. "Boop." She went cross-eyed looking at the several-inch-thick spike positioned in front of her.

"You lose." She didn't see that coming. She didn't know they did that. She had dismissed the gauntlets as an eccentric way of protecting his hands, not as a unique weapon in of itself. She sighed and relaxed out of her half-formed combat stance. _That was stupid of me._

It took only a glance at Naruto's own eyes to know the truth, _'That was the lesson. He expected someone like me to both have the knowledge and to fall into that trap.'_

As she made her way back to the stand, and the supportive looks from her team and RWBY, she couldn't help but be disappointed in herself.

 _Did I really train as hard as I could?_

She glanced back to where Naruto had begun to give a speech to the disappointed class. _I want to fight him again._

* * *

"When Ozpin told me that I'd have a room to myself, I thought he meant it."

Credit where credit was due, his room was pretty empty and spacious for the most part. The teacher's rooms were on the ends of each corridor of the academy hostels. They were rooms for four, but instead with a single king-sized bed and a television. After spending three years sleeping in places no human should sleep in, this was a welcome piece of respite.

Except for right now.

Rooms for four could theoretically house eight if two people chummed a bed. Nine was stretching it. Sadly, no one had told teams RWBY and JNPR that fact. Ten minutes after he'd moved his stuff from his old room into this one and the girls and boys of the two teams had followed his sisters into his room. Sure, he was partly to blame for his habit of not closing his door, but that wasn't an invitation. Sadly, Ruby and Yang didn't think so.

And speaking of Ruby...

Naruto sighed, "Get it over with Ruby…" Within seconds he was covered in hyperactive-sister, and a high pitched 'Eee~'ing noise. Eventually, she settled for hanging on his back from the shoulders, facing her thoroughly amused team.

"Didya miss me? Well, Didya?"

Naruto awkward patted her head, " 'Course Rubes, every day." He turned to Yang, who had been trying to edge her way as subtle as possible to the back of the group. "Ho~ Woah there Yang-a-rang, aren't you going to say 'Hi' to your older brother? For shame!"

With a quick lunge, grab, and spin, Yang was trapped in a headlock. Muffled 'No!' and 'Not the Hair!' could be heard as he gave her a noogie. Both Blake and Weiss were now a little bit disturbed by the scene in front of them. Ruby was humming and swinging herself on Naruto's arm, while Yang futilely tried to punch her way out of the noogie.

Eventually, Naruto let up to reveal a childishly pouting Yang, fitfully patting her head. He turned to the rest of the group, who had been awkwardly standing there having realized _why_ Yang and Ruby had come here. "So, pop a squat or leave."

To his disappointment, they _all_ decided to pop a squat. Well, he could tell them off, but even he wanted to know his sister's teammates, and why one of them looked so damn familiar.

"Now, you must have questions. So, let's set a rule here. Everyone gets _one_ question. No more. Am I clear?" The kids nodded, so Naruto decided to let them have this. He sat down on his bad as Ruby chose to clamber onto his shoulders, much like she used to when they were kids.

Immediately, a hand shot up. Naruto looked at the orange-haired girl who was begging to ask a question, so he beckoned to her.

"Why does Ruby get to be the queen of the castle?"

What?

Naruto almost didn't realize what the question entailed till he understood that having Ruby on his shoulders didn't even phase him at this point. It was such a common thing that even after four years apart, it didn't bother him in the slightest. Plus, it wasn't like Ruby was big or bulky.

Unlike her sister. Yang had grown. At this point, he'd have to beat the boys off her with a stick… or let them stick around till her humor got to them.

"To answer that, yes. Ruby is the queen of this castle. Yang would be too, but I fear for my back." He retorted, getting a sock thrown into his face for his transgressions. "That's not nice, Yang. Do you want to sit on Big Brother that badly?" Another sock, this time thrown with much more force.

The orange-haired girl rose her hand again. Naruto tried to recall her name. "No more questions for you. Nolan." He was pretty sure he nailed it too.

"... my name's Nora!" the girl responded with enthusiasm. Naruto chuckled.

"Orange Pop it is, excellent choice," he responded, making the girl grumble a bit. Before he could throw in another offhand comment, another hand shot up. This time, it was the girl dressed like…

"... Chibi Winter? Say it ain't so!" Naruto gasped as he sped to her position on the ground. He zipped around her, leaving leaves in his wake. "Prissy attitude, check." He appeared on her other side. "Holier-than-thou tone? Check." he appeared behind her. "Noticeable lack of womanly assets? Check." He then appeared precisely in front of her face, mere inches apart. She suddenly moved back with a half-blush forming on her face. Indignation quickly sparked in her eyes, but before she could say something, Naruto was back on his bed.

"Ice-queen aesthetic is at maximum. There's no way you aren't related to Winter dearest." Naruto spoke, waving a hand. "Either that or somehow, Ironwood has managed to chibi her. Either way, I'm not complaining." He concluded, leaving Weiss to make heads or tails of his fragmented line of logic.

"Uhum. Yes. I'm Weiss Schnee, Winter's sister. It's an honor to meet you." Weiss got up and curtsied. Even if Naruto had just spent the last few seconds making rude comments about her, he was both a teacher and a Vytal Festival champion. If she were to make friends in high places, this person would make a great starting point... and being good friends with her sister's friend wouldn't hurt.

"Listen up, 'Lil Winter. Kissing my ass ain't getting you anywhere. Before you try that again, have a frank discussion about what kind of person I am with your sister." Naruto spoke with a grim face. "Now, you had a question, didn't you? Better speak up before I move on."

Weiss cleared her throat. Of course, someone at his level _would_ catch on to her… political maneuvering. "I was just wondering. Your speed-based semblance looked very similar to Ruby's own. Is this a hereditary semblance?"

Naruto gave Ruby a little glance, then gave one to Yang. Two little nods answered him, so he knew that these people could be trusted… but not with the complete truth.

"Yeah, so. My semblance is a bit unique. You might have noticed that I don't take hits in battle. Right?" Eight heads nodded in response, some with a degree of hesitance. "So, that's because I can't take many hits. My semblance is called 'Control,' and it allows me to replicate phenomenon if I understand how they work. On the flipside, it requires immense concentration. Hence, I cannot use aura defensively while I use my semblance."

Another hand shot up. This time, it was the demure kid in green. "So, what you're saying is that your semblance allows you to copy other semblances?"

Naruto nodded in response. "Yes, Party Hardly, you're correct in your assumption. Give me enough time with a semblance, and I can pretty much master it." As he said so, he swiped an empty finger in the air, and black lines began to connect together in a convoluted pattern, similar to Weiss' own semblance, but different in execution. "Kinda like this, learned this one from lovely 'ol Winter."

As the teams were busy trying to wrap their heads around the fact that Naruto had shown them a functional replica of a multi-generational hereditary semblance, he fixed Ren with a look. "Also, that counts as your question."

Nora walked up to the seal and gave it an experimental prod. " Yeaaaah, I wouldn't do that. They tend to explode. Violently. In fact, that is all they tend to do." After the look of terror bloomed on their faces, he rubbed the back of his head, "I said I 'kinda,' learned how to recreate it, not that she handed over how to use her glyphs. Still, always good to have an explosion handy…"

Nora's eyes shined, Ren's eyes did not.

Naruto smiled as he realized that the kids had bought into his lie quite easily. Of course, the real reason why he could 'copy' their semblances was his chakra. He'd study a semblance and try to use the properties of chakra to reproduce them. The steps involved were the same. Understand, recreate, use.

Pyrrha's hand went up next. "So, the second step of your popular combo… you use Yang's semblance to power it, do you not. Exactly how many semblances?"

Naruto smirked. "Right as rain, cereal girl!" He answered, bringing a scowl on to Pyrrha's face. "As for your second - and may I mention _illegal_ \- question, do you _really_ expect me to bare my secrets to you?"

Yang nodded. "Yeah, trust me. It was so tough to get him to reveal exactly who he was taking to his graduation ball at Signal. Had to stalk him for a week to find out."

Blake rose an eyebrow. "You stalked your brother to find out who his date was?"

Yang shrugged. "He ain't the only overprotective sibling in the family, ya know?"

"Ooh! That reminds me! You must have gotten with soooo many women in Beacon!" Yang teased, a playful smirk on her face. Naruto's face instantly dropped.

"Listen, Yang. I was on a team of three powerful, beautiful, and completely _insane_ lesbians. Fuck bringing a date to the room, and I was barely ever allowed into the room myself!" He grumbled. "Plus, any and every time I expressed interest in a girl, Jas would pretty much cock-block me. Ain't my fault I wasn't born with her charisma." He became thoughtful, "Or body for that matter."

He covered Ruby's ears with his hands and leaned in closer to the others. "Trust me, and you haven't experienced feminine fury unless you've walked into a lesbian orgy of huntswomen." He paused, "Accidentally, of course."

Jaune nodded along, experience hurt.

"I'd be a happy person if you never gave me that mental image again." Weiss snarled. Behind her, Blake took note of _something_ in the almanac that had mysteriously appeared in her hands.

Jaune nodded along. He didn't need more flashbacks.

Jaune was the next person to raise his hand. "Umm, so. Don't you think the Grimm are the major threat to humanity? Your Speech today painted a different opinion."

Naruto scoured Jaune's form to find some feature about the boy that stood out. Stock weaponry, lanky build, complete and utter lack of self-esteem. The kid was the very definition of a clueless wannabe Hero. Makes sense then that Ozpin made him the team leader. _Not._

Then, his eyes landed on Jaune's weapon… to the symbol on it.

"Holy shit! Are you an Arc? Wow. Your sisters are really, _really_ full of themselves." He spoke, a playful smile on his face. "Guess it does make sense when they're all named after precious gems."

Jaune shook his head. "I have to agree on that, sadly. Both Garnet and Opal were pretty miffed about their loss to you. We didn't have a single dinner service without obscenities being hurled at you by the family for a few weeks."

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, what did the fight-caster call them? 'The only two arc siblings to not have won the Vytal tournament.' I'd feel bad if I was them. Still, it was them who were unlucky enough to take part in the same year as me."

Jaune shrugged. "Father said they would have lost just as easily to The Schnee's team or Nero Crimson's team. They just happened to lose to you."

Naruto hummed. "You're good, kid. I like you. Wish I could say the same about your family."

Jaune shrugged again. "Thanks. I guess? Sorry about my family."

Naruto smiled. "If it is any consolation, they did put up a good fight… for a few seconds."

Jaune nodded. "So, about my question?" Naruto merely shook his head.

"It's going to be covered in our next class. I've got a whole speech prepared for it, so hold your horses a bit. You'll have your answer." Naruto explained. Jaune took it.

Ruby didn't even bother raising her hand, instead leaning down to lock her eyes with his. "So, Naruto! How come you decided to become a teacher this year. Dad told me you'd be running missions with Uncle Qrow all year!"

Naruto laughed. "More like Uncle Qrow would be getting drunk as I did random stuff for him. Basically? Ozpin believed that I'd gotten enough missions on my folio to get a pretty high-ranking placement. So, he pulled me in to get me some training and teaching experience." Naruto grunted. "Plus, other huntsmen will get my missions, so it helps them grow their folio too, while I get to relax and train my lovely sisters and their cute friends."

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "You'll be training us?"

Naruto looked at her team. Pyrrha herself was in peak physical condition. Naruto was confident that she could give Jasmine a run for her money. Ren was built for skill and speed and had shown a bit of both in his time at Beacon. Nora was… Nora. The only person who stuck out - not for a definite reason - was Jaune.

"Well, you're welcome to join us." Naruto offered. On top of his shoulders, Ruby crossed her arms with a panicked expression on her face. It was the universal signal for 'no,' but Pyrrha had already answered for her team.

"We'd be glad to!" She spoke, disregarding the horrified expression on the faces of Yang and Ruby. "Just tell us where and when and we'll be there."

Naruto smirked. "I'll let you know when I have a timing figured out. I hope you're morning people because I am sure as fuck am. It's the downside of not having a stable bedding situation for the better part of three years."

Anxious to get the topic off training, Yang interrupted with a second question. "Yeah, So, what's your opinion on the staff? Any teachers we should look out for?"

Naruto glared at her. "Asking me the second question and thinking you'll get away with it? My, if you weren't my sister, I'd have to assign you to detention!"

Yang shrugged. "You're an assistant teacher. You don't have that kind of power."

Naruto grinned. "I'll have you know, Miss Xiao Long, that I'm very much capable of giving you detention."

Yang looked offended. "Me? You'd give your beautiful younger sister detention?! Why want to spend time with her that badly?"

"I can spend time with my beautiful sister at any time. I'll have you know! Isn't that right, Ruby?" Naruto countered, making Ruby roll her eyes.

"Are they always like that?" Blake asked. Ruby nodded.

"Don't worry. This is still better than when they agree on something." Ruby spoke. Naruto nodded in response.

"Yeah, and we only agree on two things." Naruto raised a finger. "One, family comes first." he folded out another finger.

"Second, anyone who puts Ruby into danger needs to be broken."

It was a testament to how good she'd gotten at hiding her reactions that Naruto didn't notice the slight shiver that went through Blake's body. Ruby, meanwhile, playfully hit Naruto on his forehead.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, you know?" Ruby huffed. Naruto picked her up by the waist like a porcelain doll and looked into her eyes.

"What, like that time you almost got mugged after school?" He asked, and Ruby blushed.

"Hey! I was ten back then. Plus, you broke almost every bone in his body!"

Another shiver ran up Blake's body as Naruto tsk-ed. "Yeah, would have broken him far worse had the cops not arrived. Thanked me for doing their job for them!"

Yang caught the disbelief in Blake's eyes. "Yeah, I know. I had the same reaction when I heard it. Didn't beat up my stalker nearly as bad."

Naruto grumbled, "You were perfectly willing to break his jaw yourself, miss 'I love attention.'"

Yang growled, "You take that back! I _did_ break his jaw!"

Naruto leaned in, "Oh really, well, I _don't_ plan to take it back. What you are gonna do, short stuff?"

Ruby grumbled, "Guys, not now…"

Flames appeared in Yang's eyes, "Why not, Rubes? Gotta show brother dearest the pecking order once again."

Blue energy engulfed Naruto's body, "Wanna run that by me again, shorty?"

Ruby sighed, "Well, Miss. Miss Goodwitch is standing at the door."

Naruto scoffed, "Yeah, I've lived with Jaz for three years. That one got old right around the first time she used it."

"I wonder what you're doing, Naruto Xiao Long."

Nine pairs of eyes shot towards the door where true to Ruby's words, stood a very irate Glynda Goodwitch. Naruto gave her a look as he let Ruby down on to the ground. He then gave her a cheerful, yet disconcerting smile.

"Oh hello, Glynda. How's that porno librarian look working for you?"

As the last word escaped his mouth, he was already running. Just in time too, as random items around the room homed in on Naruto's fleeing body, courtesy of a very irate Glynda's semblance. Considering Glynda was blocking the one exit any sane man would use, Naruto used the second.

The window.

"I'll be back for dinner, Glynda! Keep the leather and rope handy!"

"If it salvages my dignity in any way, Miss Goodwitch, I've always believed he was dropped on his head as a child," Yang interjected.

The cold look they got from the teacher was all the prodding they needed to abandon the room, as fast as their feet carried them.

This was on Naruto… solely.

* * *

Redecoration was one of Junior's pastimes.

Sure, he never did go past the usual 'change the drapes' or 'repaint the walls.' His house looked pretty baller, and he was happy with that. Even his club had won multiple awards for being the most aesthetically pleasing bar in the entirety of Vale… even though it was located so far away from the city center that you needed a GPS to find it.

That was the thing, though. Junior loved to redecorate, to reinvent. He liked to mix and match… but only when it was voluntary. He grumbled as he indexed the invoices again, he would be damned if he wasn't going to milk every last bit of tax break and compensation out of this.

Would be so much easier if the insurance company ponied up, but apparently 'freak battle royale with Huntress' doesn't count as a Natural Disaster in their books. Shows how little they know…

"Hey, are you Junior?"

Indeed, he was. So he looked away from the paperwork to the source of the callout. He almost yelled out when he found that the person who had asked for him looked like a male, taller version of the Blonde who had oh-so-kindly forced him to redecorate, hire new goons _and_ arm them with state-of-the-art guns.

"Yeah, who's asking?" Junior spoke. The boy looked at him with a bemused expression. This man didn't see Junior as a threat, not one bit.

"Well, quite surprised that you have to ask me that. I was under the impression that you knew anything and everything that goes on in Vale." The cocky boy answered. The nerve of this kid! He looked barely out of his teens, and here he was, messing with someone twice his age.

"Well, things have changed. I don't know quite enough these days, it seems." Junior retorted, his attention returning to the papers he had in front of him. It was then that he realized the similarity between what this guy had said and what that hell-blonde had. "Also, who gave you that impression?"

Naruto waved his hand back and forth while grinning, "Oh you know, my little sister. You might know of her." A bad feeling built up in Junior's stomach, "Blonde, bombshell…" Naruto raised his hand a little under his nose, "Ye high?"

Naruto snapped as Junior flinched, knowing precisely who he was talking about. "Oh! She also apparently likes Strawberry Sunrises, which I'm going to have to kick Qrow's ass for apparently."

Junior's face blanked as he held up a 'Not Allowed' Poster for Yang Xiao Long. Naruto nodded and snatched the posted from Junior's hands. "Yeah, that would be her. Oh, nice pose, I'm keeping this one." He said as he tucked it into a back pocket.

Junior groaned and motioned over to the Malachite twins. They stopped their dancing, groaned, and walked over to this newly-discovered disturbance. Seeing the twins move, the henchmen realized that something was going on. They didn't bother taking out their guns, though. After all, there were only a few problems that the Malachite twins couldn't solve… one of them being their horrid personalities.

"What's the problem, Junior, we were dancing," Militia spoke, taking one of the bar stool next to Naruto and Melanie took the other.

"This hunk's causing trouble? Aww, I guess we could take care of him." Melanie moved in closer to get a better look at the boy. That was a mistake.

She saw the whisker-marks, the blue eyes, that confident yet cold smile, and she knew. She knew exactly who this was. Judging by the surprised expression on her twin's face, she did too.

Naruto Xiao Long.

Said 'hunk' leaned in. "Be careful what you wish for, else you might end up biting more than you can chew." He scolded, switching his attention back to Junior. "Also, I tend to keep away from jailbait."

Junior raised an eyebrow. He'd never seen the Malachite twins scared in his life. Angry? Yes. Annoyed? Almost perpetually. Scared? He didn't think the twins had the self-preservation instinct needed to facilitate that. Plus, the blonde sitting there didn't look all that intimidating. He was pretty sure he could take the kid-

 _She glowed a brilliant yellow as her fist came down_.

-No, that was a dangerous assumption to make, especially so soon after the destruction of his club.

"Listen up, Blondie. I restrict rights to this bar. I choose who comes in, I choose who I serve, and above all, I choose who I want to divulge information to." Junior spoke. He would have grabbed the blonde's collar, but the look the Malachite twins gave him warned him against that.

"Oh, he's joking, Naruto! He'll tell you what you need." Melanie spoke, all the while giving Junior the stink-eye. "You aren't in any hurry, are you? Maybe you'd like a drink, maybe a dance or two?"

"Maybe you'd like us?" Militia chimed in, her fingers dancing on Naruto's arm.

"As I said before, I don't do jailbait. Also, I'm rather pressed for time." Naruto replied. Melanie mouthed something about being of legal age, but Naruto completely brushed that aside. Junior had had a revelation.

The blonde's name was Naruto, he was related to the other blonde, whose full name -as he had later found out- was Yang Xiao Long. That would make this Naruto kid Naruto Xiao Long… A name straight from the front page.

Yep, he was suddenly grateful that he hadn't repeated the same mistake twice. Had he done so, the cost of redecorating would have spiraled into the cost of rebuilding the club from scratch, and he wasn't even going to get into the chance of personal damage.

"Oh! Well, yeah. I was joking! That's all!" Junior tried to cover up for his transgressions as he gazed at Naruto's trademark killer smile. "What can I interest you in today? Alcohol, Information, women, the deeds to the land that this club is built on?

Naruto shook his head. " I appreciate the courtesy, Junior, but I'm here for information." Naruto reached into his pocket and fished out a notepad. "I know you've had dealings with Roman Torchwick. Don't try to deny it. I would like to know exactly what you've spoken about and what his plans for Vale are."

He raised an eyebrow. "You don't expect me to know all that, do you?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, just wanted to make sure whether the line 'Junior knows any and everything about the underworld' holds true. Apparently, it does not."

Melanie shrugged next to Naruto. "Yeah, Junior likes to brag, but like, he's been out of the look since that metrosexual playboy showed up." She sighed, "He tried to hit on the two of us, but his fashion sense makes him look like someone my dad's age, so like, whatever."

"That girl with him was creepy." Militia helpfully added. Naruto caught up on that immediately. Junior couldn't help but agree.

"There was a girl with him? His boss?" Naruto asked, and Junior shook his head.

"She was a wisp of a girl, that one, but had a presence that made her feel threatening. The guards didn't even try to keep her out."

Naruto frowned. "Yeah, and we both know how good your guards are at their jobs."

He shrugged. "You ask me. Your sister looks and talks like she's had some rowdy nights, not sure all of them were in the club-"

He was stopped mid-sentence by a murderous glare from Naruto. "I would appreciate it if you did not speak about my sister like that."

Junior swallowed and nodded with enthusiasm. "Yes sir, completely understood."

Melanie was trying to inch her way back into the conversation, and the lull that followed Junior's hasty agreement was the perfect window of opportunity. "So like, the girl was tiny, but had this amazing Neapolitan ice-cream style going, and I was like 'oh my god, isn't she precious!'."

"She then gave us a death glare." Militia supplied, still unwilling to take her gaze off Naruto. Sure, it was flattering, but Naruto didn't seem to like it when someone mentally undressed him.

Personally, Junior couldn't see why. _If I was fifteen years younger..._

Naruto nodded and scribbled something down in his notepad he had pulled out. "So an accomplice. This is… worrying." He then put the notepad away and stared Junior down. Quite a feat considering he was almost a foot shorter than someone named 'Junior.'

Why was he named Junior when he stood almost seven feet tall? Some questions just aren't asked.

"I need access to your camera feeds. I'm hoping you have this event on record?" He asked, and Junior was faced with a genuine _Dilemma_. He could either give Naruto access to his camera center and let a huntsman gain very intimate knowledge of all the dealings of the underworld that happened in his club, making himself a target of the local mobs. Or, he could deny access to Naruto and risk pissing off a stronger, older, more famous relative of the huntress that pretty much trashed his entire operation.

The answer was obvious.

"Got it, you want to see it now?" He answered, taking less than half a millisecond to decide. Mobs would threaten him with guns and manpower, which could be countered by the same. Huntsmen - on the other hand - were a lot harder to combat. _Maybe I can get a concession or two of support from him?_

"Ooh ooh, can we come too?" Melanie asked. Naruto only shrugged as he was led into a smaller room behind the bar counter.

After following Junior through the back halls of storage, special client rooms, and a lounge filled with goon clones they finally reached an old wood door that looked like it lead to a janitor's closet...forty years ago. Junior's keys jangled, and he jiggled the lock, "Alright, watch your step. It's old, and the wires run _everywhere..._ but it works."

The door opened to reveal precisely as Junior said, old electronic equipment, wires running haphazardly on the ceiling and floor, a large rack of monitors and HDDs, and finally one sleeping goon in a black suit.

Naruto was amused as Junior sighed, "Dammit Johnny, WAKE UP!" He followed it up with a smack to the back of the now-named goon's head. Johnny Goon woke up.

"Eh? Ah?" He looked wildly around before his gaze settled on the group, "Oh, bossman. Oh shit, bossman! Ah, boss, it's not what you think!"

Junior wasn't amused, "You weren't sleeping at the cameras?"

"...okay, it's exactly what you think."

Junior hiked his thumb over his shoulder, "If you have the time to sleep you have time to stand outside and watch the front."

The goon scrambled out of the room, "Yes, boss!"

Naruto smirked, "Trouble with the workforce?"

Junior could only pinch his nose as the Malachite sisters giggled. "It's an out of the way room, security through obscurity… Some of my men take that as an open invitation to catch shut-eye."

As junior turned back and got to work on the system to bring up the requested files Naruto couldn't help but needle the guy a little more. " So, you are awfully candid with me now. What changed?"

Junior grunted, and the girls giggled again, "Because kid, I'm fairly certain you could break me and my club in half, security or no."

"And?"

Junior licked his lips with nervousness as the files loaded, "And, I'm hoping that maybe you'd be fine with me tossing your name around if any of the local… groups take issue with this transaction of ours."

 _Oh, smart. Didn't think of that, would suck if someone got killed from that._ Naruto shrugged, "Yeah, sure. But I'll-"

"-have to break me if you find out I'm using it for more than that." Junior finished for him. "I'm a man of my word, here's your footage."

Naruto leaned in to watch the footage, while it was of good quality, that didn't go too far with the equipment Junior used. Curious, the girls leaped, and each hung off one of his shoulders. Naruto didn't even notice.

After a solid five minutes, Naruto began to get irritated, and the girls were bored. "Junior, you said this was the footage from when they showed up?"

Junior didn't look up from the scroll he was on, "Yeah, what of it?"

"Well for one, there's nothing here."

Junior blinked, put down the scroll, and looked up. Only to blink again at his two best enforcers draping themselves over Naruto, apparently to the lack of notice from Naruto. He shook his head, "Not possible, I _know_ they were there last night, and I check every day for signs of tampering, there hasn't been any. That footage is as raw as it gets."

"Really? I feel so left out now, why didn't you introduce me to your imaginary friend?" Honestly, the face Junior made with that comment was worth coming down for.

"What are you… let me see that footage."

Naruto reset the footage and scooted over to let Junior watch. Junior watched in disbelief, and the sister laughed at his expense as they now saw what Naruto was referring to.

Junior stood there talking to no one.

"Mother fucker!"

Naruto sighed, it could never be easy, could it.

* * *

Naruto seriously needed to get out of the habit of not closing the door to his room.

He'd got back from Junior's bar after telling them he would be visiting again once he had an idea of how to deal with the illusionist without making a scene which she could use to escape. He'd barely even changed into his neon-orange night clothes when he noticed that he had a visitor.

Pyrrha Nikos, twice in the same day.

"What can I do for you, Pyrrha?" Naruto asked as he took a seat next to his bed and motioned for Pyrrha to do the same. She gladly complied and sat down on the bed.

"I wished to ask you a few things earlier, sorry for barging into your room twice in the same day." Pyrrha flashed an embarrassed smile. Naruto would be lying if he said he didn't expect this. While he believed that Pyrrha wouldn't take her defeat as an insult, he was more than sure that she'd have questions about it.

Questions she'd be unwilling to ask in the company of others.

"Go on, shoot," Naruto stated, and Pyrrha did as asked.

"You said, earlier, that you based your fighting style around fighting humans…"

Naruto hummed, "So many people are so focused on the Grimm at the gates they forget about the knife behind them. Almost all large-scale Grimm invasions have happened because the humans behind the safe walls of a village or a town did something unspeakable. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes blinded by greed, in the end, it doesn't matter. The Grimm come all the same. This is the sorta thing I was going to cover next class..."

"But you aren't here about that are you? I'm guessing you had some revelation?"

She nodded, "You implied a Huntsman could focus on anti-humans missions?"

He shrugged, "Did I?" She nodded, "its a darker part of the realities of a Huntsman but...Honestly? Anyone could do anti-human missions."

Naruto exhaled, "Ruby...and Yang too, I suppose. But they don't need to see that knife. Ruby does it to be Hero, Yang for the thrill. You've talked with them a bit, can you see either of them solving certain problems... permanently?"

Pyrrha grew silent on that. He wasn't wrong now that she thought about it. Ruby was too optimistic, Yang was… in it for the fight. She shook her head, "No, no I can't. Are you saying…?"

Naruto chuckled, "I'm sure you'll understand if I don't answer that, Champ."

Pyrrha sat there, and Naruto let her. "My Semblance is Polarity, something basically useless against the Grimm-"

Naruto interrupted, "Not so, but I can get why you might think that."

Pyrrha nodded, "I know, I have _ideas_ but…"

"But a metal controlling semblance is far more immediately useful against Humans, and your history as a tournament fighter already had you develop a style based on it being used primarily against humans."

She nodded.

"And you want to know if you could do what I do."

She hesitated this time but nodded all the same.

"Tell me, Pyrrha, do you have that resolve?" His eyes burned into hers, making her remember that smile of his. How many people had seen that smile as their last image before death?

"I…" She trailed off, unsure of herself. _Could she…?_

"Do you have someone you want to protect?"

It didn't take her long to think of that answer. _Jaune_. She hadn't known him for long, but he seemed genuine and determined even if he wasn't exactly prime Hunter material. He tried to be a good leader and friend, and he always brightened up the room whether accidentally or on purpose.

In her eyes, that was worth protecting.

Naruto could tell she found her answer, "So, Champ, tell me. What are you willing to do to protect people like that? How far would you go? What would you sacrifice?"

Pyrrha had come to Beacon aimless, looking only to escape her fame. Just a week in, she had found the makings of close friends. It was different. It was _nice._ She had discovered comfort and friendship, but no direction.

She licked her suddenly dry lips, extremely aware of Naruto's cold gaze. This wasn't a choice she could back down from. It was all or nothing.

"Whatever it takes."

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **Sneaky: To bring back an old fav, I present the "Things that are totally not canon but funny anyway!" aka Omakes!**

 **CruelRuin: Kill me, do it now.**

* * *

 **Omake 1: Pyrrh-O-Vision**

Pyrrha had come to Beacon aimless, looking only to escape her fame. Just a week in she had found the makings of close friends. It was different. It was _nice._ She had found comfort, but no direction.

She licked her suddenly dry lips, extremely aware of Naruto's cold gaze. This wasn't a choice she could back down from.

"My Laifu for Waifu."

"I'm sorry what?"

Pyrrha pulled Naruto closer, fire in her eyes and determination in her frown.

"Jaune is Best Girl."

Naruto was adequately sweating at this point.

"My Laifu for Waifu," Pyrrha repeated, "Jaune is Best Girl," she repeated. Slowly, the two phrases devolved into a tantric chant, and only single thought went through Naruto's mind.

… He should have taken that job in Atlas. Frigid colds and frosty tundras were bearable.

… but not this shit again.


	3. Judge, Jury, Execution II

**Judge, Jury, Execution Arc: II**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: It's Neapolitan, my Dear Pyrrha.**

* * *

After informing her team of the 'detention,' she had with Naruto and reassuring them it wasn't a big deal. _And no Nora, you don't need to come and try to break his legs._ She got combat ready and headed off to Training Room #7.

It... wasn't quite what she expected from a training room.

All the electronics in the room were busted, there were all sorts of gouges, scrapes and burn marks on the walls. The ground had more holes in it than a village road, piles of debris littered the floor, and the spectator stand was just… missing.

"I'm sorry about the state of this place. It was assigned to my team and me back in Second Year, and you can see that we have absolutely used it worth every lien it took to blast-proof this place."

Naruto walked in from behind her, completely taking her unawares. Had she been less-prepared, she would have attacked him just on instinct. _Not that it would have done much_. A flicker of a grimace escaped flashing across her face before she ruthlessly suppressed it.

The second she had that spike of negative emotion, however, his eyes glanced over at her. "Now I know what you are thinking, 'I almost attacked him on reflex, not that it would have done anything.' Right?"

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. _Am I that easy to read?_ Combined with her questions from the combat class, worry and doubt begin to eat at her. _Did I really let myself get so rusty?_

"So, pre-empting any worry here," He was rummaging through a duffle that was next to a ratty mattress in the corner, "talked to Oz, he knows whats up and gave it the OK." Whatever Naruto was looking for he didn't find. Grimacing, he got up and turned back to her, "Wanted me to give you one last chance to back out and reiterate that there is no pressure."

She shook her head, "No… I think- I think I needed this."

Naruto broke out into a grin, "Great! We don't have enough Hunters to take anti-human operations as is, high casualty rate...comes with the territory of hunting the most dangerous game, ya know?"

Pyrrha grew pensive at that, "And the Headmaster is...okay with this?"

Naruto sighed, "Yeah, well. Despite his sterling public image, O'le Oz has made some pretty stupid decisions. He just has extremely capable janitors."

"Like you?" She asked.

Naruto grunted, "Like me."

"So, you plan to train me into one of these… janitors?" She asked, wary, and Naruto shook his head.

"I'm going to be brutally honest, Pyrrha. You ain't the type of person suited to be a 'janitor.' That kind of work is for people like Qrow and me."

"What are you training me to be, then?" She asked.

"Well, in the simplest of terms? I'm training you to be Glynda." He clasped his hands together in prayer. "May the gods forgive me for that."

She was confused, "Miss Goodwitch?"

He nodded, "We need two sides to it. We need public heroes, taking in criminals of Vale and-" He started waving his hand around dismissively,"-blah blah blah."

He sniffed, "Glynda used to do that, we need someone to fill her role. Don't get me wrong though. You'll still be killing people."

She flinched. His eyes darted to her again.

"Don't worry. It won't be often. But it _will_ happen. I won't butter this up for you. I'm not Ozpin. Unlike Ozpin, I'm also going to be straight with you. Your fame is the key factor here." He gestured to all of her, "You already got the 'Sexy Hoptilite' look going and public reputation as the 'Undefeatable' Champion of the Mistralian circuit."

She couldn't help it. Her spirits sank with that. _Just another person who wants to use me for my fame._

"And I know what you must be thinking: 'Just another person who wants to use me for my fame,' right?" He laughed as she looked up, startled, and gave her a grin, "I guess, buts I'd more frame it as 'using your fame to save people,' ya know?"

Her raincloud started to dispel, "What do you mean?"

Naruto chuckled and ruffled her hair, "C'mon Champ, think about it. The baddies have their infamy, and they use it quite liberally to terrorize and intimidate…"

It only took a few seconds for it to click, _Duh, this is getting embarrassing._ With a light blush spreading on her face, she answered him, "And Heroes have their fame, and they use it to inspire and uplift the spirits of those around them."

Naruto double finger-gunned at her, "Nailed it Champ. We need a little bit more than 'Oh good. The Hunters are here!' We need 'We're saved! Pyrrha is here!'. Fame is just another weapon you are going to have to learn how to wield."

Her blush deepened, "I…" _I never thought of it like that before._

"Right, to the serious part." Naruto cracked his knuckles and began to stretch. She shook off her blush and followed his lead. "Now, the important part of focusing on human enemies is that it comes with a fair number of downsides."

She paused mid-stretch, eyes full of curiosity, "Like?"

"Well, for one. You would say I'm fairly strong, correct?"

She couldn't help it. She snorted at that. _Fairly strong is one way to put it._

Naruto seemed to take that as a 'yes' and kept going, "Now then, why aren't I out there in the wilds pushing back the tide of Grimm and enabling new frontiers to be opened?"

Again, she had no answer. Continuing their stretches in silence, Naruto waited as Pyhra went over it in her head. _Why_ isn't _he on the front lines like he said?_ This was starting to get old, had she really not put any thought into this before? "Because you focused on fighting Humans. Counters to Humans, the anticipation of wild Semblances, tactics…"

Naruto gave her a hand motion to continue.

Now more confident, she did so, "Psychology...Humans will run to save themselves. You can interrogate people, not Grimm. Intimidation, reputation...there's so much more that works on people than Grimm. But…"

Naruto picked up for her, "But In exchange for learning and training all that, I don't have attacks, tactics, styles, etc. to employ against Grimm. I don't have Area of Effect attacks for example. Sure, I can punch an Ursa to death as well as the next guy, but ten Ursas? Horde of Beowolves?" He shook his head, "I'm not saying I _couldn't_ , I'm just going to be far less effective at fighting Grimm where it really counts."

They had both finished their stretches, Pyrrha frowned, "...so I'll be worse at fighting Grimm?"

He shrugged and got into a bare-fisted combat stance, "Nah, learning to fight Humans brings you to new heights. But you always have to keep in mind: Humans aren't Grimm and Grimm aren't Humans. Beyond the basics of 'Pointy end goes here' there isn't much overlap of tactics."

He cracked his neck as Pyrrha dropped into her own unarmed stance, "Now enough talk. Time to beat the weakness out of you, Champ."

Pyrrha smiled. In the end, she feels, she made the right choice.

* * *

Naruto flipped through the now-filled notepad. It had taken several weeks of visiting the for him to go through all the footage.

"Right, so let's go over what we've found so far." They were sitting in one of the booths at this point, tired of the cramped back room. "So, from time to time the two of you and Junior would randomly start to talk to people who aren't there."

Melanie bobbed her head, "Right, like, that happens to us usually whenever I comment on the little pink one."

Militia nodded, "And when it happens to Junior, the goons leave."

Naruto hummed, "Exactly, while Semblances are bullshit, I'm going to call an illusion that can manipulate audio as well impossible for now. So, we've picked out a few targets out of the regulars that coincide with the illusions showing up."

Junior sat down, "Yeah, I went through the ledgers. We are short on cash. Not much, but enough to match it to a certain expensive drink not being paid for." He grumbled and nodded at Naruto, "You were right on that one. Damn bitch."

Naruto scratched some notes out and made new ones. "Alright, you opening tomorrow finally, Junior?"

Junior grunted, "Yeah, you gonna be here to keep an eye out? Roman or at least that damn brat will probably stop by to 'remind' me or something."

Naruto sighed and dragged his hand through his hair, "Right, so that group…" He flipped through his notes, "Stays on the upper right section as close to the bar, and you three, as possible." He flipped another page. "They also never go to the dance floor, and always order the same drinks with no food to accompany it."

Junior nodded. "Because uneaten food raises more questions than a full drink."

Naruto snorted, "Or maybe it's because you manage to even fuck up Ramen. Even I wouldn't eat that swill."

Junior frowned. "Well, that just goes to show that you lot have no appreciation for fine dining."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Junior, Caviar does _not_ go with everything!"

"You keep saying that, and my patrons will still keep paying for it." Junior shot back.

"I like caviar." Militia helpfully added.

"Your obvious lack of taste buds aside, let's discuss the plan." Naruto began to scribble on his notepad. "Considering you've been closed for a while, chances of Roman and his mook showing up on the day you open is extremely high. So, I'm gonna do what I do best and try to catch them."

Melanie put a finger on her cheek. "But like, aren't they like, illusion specialists?"

Naruto nodded. "I'm going to be absolutely honest when I say this. I'm probably not going to be able to catch them."

Junior grunted. "Then why bother attacking them in the first place?"

Naruto grinned. "I want to force their hand. I want to see how this semblance works, and there's no better way to know than to face its user."

"What about Roman? He's not a shabby fighter himself. He won't stand idly by when you fight this illusionist of his." Junior interjected, only for Naruto to shake his head.

"That's where you come in, Junior. It's your opening night, and Roman's one of the underworld's big players. Give him free drinks, make up an excuse. I won't engage the illusionist till Roman's in no shape to stand up."

The then looked at the twins. "The two of you mentioned that he hits on you every time he comes around, yes?" The twins nodded in response. "Do me a favor then, return some interest. Keep egging him on to drink more. Keep him busy till I have the best advantage that I can get."

The girls shared a disgusted face before eventually nodding in agreement.

"You are going to fight outside the club, right? I just finished repairing and all…" Junior murmured. Naruto thought about it for a second, then withdrew a card from his pocket and flung it at Junior, who fumbled to catch it.

"That should take care of any damages in case I do end up breaking stuff," Naruto answered. "As for you two," he looked directly at the twins. "If you do this, you can have a reward as well. What you want is up to you."

Naruto then collected his stuff and left, leaving the twins and Junior to stare blankly at the card he'd handed them. It was a credit card, one of them fancy platinums with no lien withdrawal limit.

It was the name on it that caught Junior's attention.

"Ozpin?" He questioned, gaining a smirk. "If this card belongs to who I think it belongs to, I'd rather they fight inside here than outside."

After all, he's already been contemplating expansion. _Nothing better than free_ , he mused.

* * *

Yang had no idea what to expect, and that mere fact scared her.

She had always been the sibling closest to Naruto… the first person he came to for everything (when their father wasn't there). She prided herself on being an 'elder' sister to Naruto, even though he was the senior regarding age. She'd taught him the language of Remnant, the customs, how to make friends.

To some extent, she'd taught him how to fight the Grimm too. Sure, Dad taught both of them, but Naruto always showed a greater propensity for fighting humans. Till this day, she'd never truly won a spar against him.

… other than the one time she and Ruby had almost killed him.

Dad tried his best to make sure that the very memory of the event would be forgotten by the kids. In Ruby's case, he even succeeded. Sadly, there was no way to take away the image of Naruto, lying bruised and broken on that bed so many years ago, all from _something_ _she did_.

That was the point in life that Yang became protective of Naruto. Sure, considering how powerful Naruto had grown with time and how much better he'd gotten at controlling his 'chakra,' it wouldn't be likely that he - of all people - would need saving.

The day he did, though, Yang would be there.

Amongst other things that Yang had picked up about Naruto was his flair for theatrics. He'd called both the first and second years out to the Emerald forest for their class. The classes had convened, and her brother was a no-show.

Finally, there was a very out-of-character glare-and-pout combo on Pyrrha's face.

"What's with the face, Champ?" Yang asked. Pyrrha's head didn't entirely turn. Instead, it _creaked_ as it mechanically jerked to face her.

"Well... your brother said that he had something to show me, something that would 'make my day.'" She grumbled something that sounded a lot like 'blonde demon' and 'slave driver' under her breath as she jerked her head away.

Yang raised an eyebrow. "Come to think of it, Naruto's been giving you detention _daily_ , hasn't he?" Pyrrha nodded, and things began to add up in Yang's mind.

"Aren't you somewhere near the top of the class when it comes to performance?" She asked, and Pyrrha nodded again. "Yet, Naruto's been spending basically every other evening with you for the past three-ish weeks." Pyrrha nodded again.

Yang moved in closer to Pyrrha. "Listen, Pyrrha. I'd tease you about having a secret affair with Naruto if I didn't know that look on your face like the back of my hand. He's been training you, hasn't he?"

Pyrrha was silent for a moment but then nodded.

"So, what's this 'surprise' he's got planned for us today?" Yang asked.

Pyrrha shook her head and shrugged, whispering back, "Well, he told us that his semblance was copying the semblances of others, so I challenged him to copy mine."

Yang groaned, "So, Naruto told you that he's got a surprise for you. A surprise that he's got in store for _all_ of us." Pyrrha didn't even confirm it, but she didn't need to either.

"Knowing him as long as I have, Pyrrha, I'd say that he's already got your semblance down pat… at least to some extent." Yang continued as the class heard a corvian shriek ring out from somewhere past the forest's canopy.

"Knowing that he's done that, he's gonna put up a show."

On cue, a black blur shot over their heads, a very squeaky, thrashing black blur that was revealed to be an Alpha Nevermore, the kings of the sky. Sadly, it didn't look much 'kingly' with chains wrapped around its neck.

Attached to the chains was Naruto, having more fun than what should legally be allowed.

"Oh hey, kids! YOU LIKE VIOLENCE?!" Naruto yelled out from his perch on the largest Nevermore one could find.

"I don't even want to dignify that with a response." Weiss murmured next to Yang. Sadly, Yang herself couldn't deny Naruto's accusing question. _I do love some good old fashion violence._

"IF YOUR ANSWER IS YES, BOY I DO HAVE A TREAT IN STORE FOR YOU!" Naruto shouted as he jumped off the Alpha Nevermore hundreds of meters above the treeline. His body shot towards the ground as the chains holding the Nevermore's neck tightened somehow.

Yang picked up on that, so did Pyrrha. Chains didn't behave that way.

If there was any doubt that Naruto was controlling the chains directly, it vanished when the chains retracted into Naruto's gauntlet faster than any winch could pull them. Naruto turned in mid-air and shot out the stakes from his pneumatic-spike gauntlets, one impaling the ground, and the other spearing the unlucky Nevermore.

Then, he _pulled_.

The other students didn't know Naruto as Yang and Ruby did. They expected this to be a stupid maneuver that would fail.

They didn't know Naruto enough.

The chains started to reel in on both sides, turning Naruto into a makeshift centrifuge. As the Nevermore descended, so did Naruto, but much slower, reeling the chain in. Finally, as the Nevermore began to succumb to gravity, Naruto yanked the stake out of the ground, allowing the recoil to pull him up just above the Grimm. He then reeled himself in to gain momentum.

The punch that followed was more meteor than a sledgehammer.

The Nevermore hit the ground, breaking it's _everything_. It screeched out in agony and tried to flail around, reeling from the force of the blow. It didn't have to deal with the misery long, because Naruto landed right on its head, and punched right through, the force of his landing eviscerating it.

"Whew, that was fun." Naruto wiped his hands, completely ignoring the slowly-evaporating Grimm-remains that stuck to the rest of his body. "So, you kids know about migratory Grimm?"

A few nods, a few shaken heads. Just as he expected. "The Nevermore - even though similar to crows and ravens - migrate. Sometimes, they'll deviate from their natural migratory pattern to attack a settlement with excessive negative emotions." Naruto shrugged. "Consider it a 'mid-flight snack' if you will."

"Grotesque imagery aside, sir, what bearing does this have on a combat lecture?" Weiss interjected, having her raised hand ignored utterly.

Naruto grimaced, "Okay, I know that Port's supposed to teach you about Grimm migratory patterns later in year two… but you remember the age-old saying? Where the alpha goes…" Naruto expectantly stared at Weiss, who took the chance to complete his sentence.

"... the flock follows. Again, what does that have to do with any-" Her mind caught up with her mouth in less than a second. The Grimm that lay on the ground between Naruto and the rest of the class was an Alpha if the armored back and abnormally-long wingspan was anything to go by.

The angry noises of a murder of Nevermore past the treeline confirmed Weiss' fear.

"This, kids, is combat _scenario_ class. Glynda wasn't exactly pleased with my little introduction in the first class. She will be handling peer-to-peer training from now on, so I'm going to give you do or die situations that huntsmen would generally find themselves in." He noticed how the class stiffened. "Do or die minus the 'die'… for the most part." He corrected himself, rubbing the back of his head.

"... you expect us to take down a whole murder of Nevermore?" Weiss asked, and Naruto nodded. The entirety of team RWBY had barely managed to kill one of them back during initiation, what luck would they have with dozens?

"Well, uh... yeah. In this scenario, you're all brave huntsmen and huntresses protecting your beloved Beacon Academy from impending 'death via Grimm.' Sure, there isn't any _real_ danger, considering the anti-air turrets will dispatch any Grimm that come too close." The kids were apparently more worried about themselves though. Naruto groaned.

"And to give you all a fighting chance, I'm giving you a little gift here." Naruto pointed at the Alpha Nevermore that was slowly dissipating near his feet. "The Alpha is already dead, so the murder will be in disarray. I'm going to make that a _bit_ worse."

Without uttering a single word, Naruto disappeared from their sights, leaving a trail of leaves in his wake. Yang saw him appear for an instant on top of a rock at the edge of the clearing, facing them. A boulder which looked dragged explicitly to that spot recently.

Turning around, he gave them a megawatt grin... The kind of smile he only had when he was about to reveal a prank. _Oh, shi-_

"LET THE GAMES-" He held his hand in the air, then made a show of clicking some device, "-BEGIN!"

Flares of fire and smoke shone through the shadowed undergrowth of the forest as a dozen fireworks begin their whining ascent straight into the murder of Nevermore.

Yang quickly slammed her hands over her ears, while Ruby 'Eep'ed and did the same.

The rest of the class watched with confusion as the fireworks sailed into the sky.

They reached the flock with little fanfare, at which point they proceeded to explode. 'Low flash, much Bang' was Naruto's particular flavor of firework. To spite Yang - or to pay homage to her - he called it the Bang-a-rang.

Such a title was well deserved as the resulting sound shockwave not only physically disoriented and damaged the flock. It also knocked a majority of the class on their collective asses.

Naruto stood there on the rock and _laughed_.

* * *

If Neo was annoyed or bothered by Roman's inane talk, she didn't let it show as they walked down the street.

"I think this is _just_ the right time to show up don't you?" Roman glanced at her as if she would answer, "Of course I'm right. 'ole Junior probably thinks I would show up immediately. Heh."

He glanced over at Neo, "You _so_ have our chosen illusion for tonight picked out, yeah?" She huffed, " 'Course you did doll, sorry."

"Just remember, that's our fallback for tonight. We are going for the shock and awe treatment tonight with him." Neo rolled her eyes. This was the _fifth_ time he said this on the way over. Neo being Neo had given him a trademark glare, but that was always the end of that particular conversation.

She'd long given up on making him see sense. Plus, it was so much more enjoyable to see him suffer.

But, Neo would give credit where credit was due. Roman was _good_ at what he did. That and he helped her out of a bind in Vacuo, literally. Torturing those slavers was still one of her fondest memory.

She was shaken out her reverie by the loud music echoing down the street, that and Roman had tapped her shoulder. "Look alive Neo, let's give them a show."

Neo shrugged. She was looking forward to a drink or two, but nothing more. As the two finally walked in through the newly-installed blast doors leading into Junior's bar, Neo was taken aback by the fact that Junior had managed to perform such an impressive overhaul of the facilities.

Roman, meanwhile, had eyes for something else entirely.

His beeline couldn't be more obvious. It made her nearly want to facepalm publicly. She approached the bar herself and with a few hand gestures had him scrambling to fix her a drink.

She knew how the routine would go: Go in, act normal(crush someone's toes), have a drink or two, roman would try to score with the underaged dropouts Junior keeps around, and finally Roman reminds Junior how awful it would be if she shanked him in a back alley.

 _At least that is how I imagine it goes._ Truthfully, she never paid much attention to Roman's stage play. Before Cinder, it didn't involve her much beyond being threatening when Roman told her to be, or stabbing someone that Roman wanted stabbing. After Cinder through... _Roman wouldn't let her try to shank the narcissistic bitch or her jumped up two-bit wanna-bes_.

She was disturbed from her thoughts by one of Junior's goons sidling up next to her. Spiky brown hair, blue eyes, _some self-inflicted scars on his face to make him seem 'cool_.' Really, the only way she knew he was a goon was the black suit and red tie combo. He flashed her a grin when he saw her checking him out. "Hey little lady, liking what you see?"

She gave him a flat stare.

He continued, "I hear you are mute, but I bet I can make you scream by the end of the night."

She wanted to physically cringe, _Oh look the bartender is doing it for me._ She instead ground her heel into the goons foot, or at least she tried to. From the smirk on his face, she knew this goon was fully aware his steel-toed boots were stopping her response.

She pouted, "Aw, don't be like that little lady. Hey, why don't me an' you head out back, and I'll give you a prequel to the feature-length film."

She was actually stunned by that. A quick look over at Junior revealed his head in his hands, apparently having heard the beyond awful pickup lines. _Maybe taking care of this goon will be doing him a favor…_

A glance over at Roman showed him in a booth, with several empty mugs, and Junior's Jailbait fawning over him. _Good, he won't notice if I vent some frustrations…_

With her smuggest smirk, she finally nodded to the goon who seemed to be eagerly awaiting her response. The goon straitened with pride and brushed the non-existent dust off his suit. "And they said I didn't have it. Shows them!"

He nodded his head towards the back door before pushing off the bar and walking towards it, "Well c'mon doll, you won't forget this premier event."

Out of all the things Naruto expected, an all-out-offensive with an umbrella was not high on the list… or even on it, for that matter.

It happened though, and with the skill and alacrity of a professional huntsman, Naruto fell flat on his face in an attempt to dodge it. Thankfully, he did avoid it. Sadly, the ground didn't take too kindly to his face.

"OUCH!" Naruto yelled as he rolled out of the path of the girl's follow up attack. Then, he rolled on to his knees and sprung back, creating space between the two of them. He was lucky that it hadn't rained today, because his entire 'goon' makeup would have come off had there been any moisture on the ground.

Dyes made for effective deception, and even though Naruto knew - deep in his heart - that his 'seduction leading to capture' plan would never work, he had hoped to at least get the drop on his quarry.

Hell, he couldn't even do that. The girl was fast and athletic, a combo that was deadly but made so much worse by her lack of size. Plus her diminutive figure belied her strength. Any of those hits would have done massive damage had they connected. She was good, huntsman-level good.

Sadly, that wasn't good enough.

He leveled a toothy grin at her, "Y'know, I've heard of throwing tomatoes for a bad show, but bayoneted umbrellas is certainly a first." He crouched, readying himself, "Now how 'bout we skip right to Act 2?"

By the look on her face, she was indeed more than eager to get to _her_ version of 'Act 2'.

She _moved_ , shooting right at Naruto. He didn't budge, and a small hint of concern appeared on the girl's face right as she was mere millimeters from Naruto. He wasn't built like a tank, neither did he have effective armor to take on a focused direct hit at this speed.

So why wasn't he moving?

It was this momentary hesitation that changed _something_ about the girl's approach as Naruto used the only real defensive technique in his arsenal.

"CROSS COUNTER!"

The base of the technique was simple. Wait for the opponent to extend, use the opponent's momentum against them. Of course, once he learned how to enhance his fists with chakra and use it to stick to the ground, it turned from an excellent defensive technique into something completely debilitating. Had the girl not dodged at the last second, she wouldn't have a spine left, aura defense or not.

But she dodged, in a way that Naruto was not expecting.

His fist passed through her face but met almost no resistance. It felt like crashing through a paper-thin sheet of glass. When it shattered, Naruto noticed that the girl was behind him, having slowed down and rolled past to come to a halt.

The grin on her face was very much gone.

"Well, you're better than I gave you credit for," Naruto eased into a different stance. "Compared to an experienced huntsman, though, you're rather lacking."

Internally he high-fived himself if the wary look being replaced by the murderous fury was any indication, she had decided to hurt him before she fled. That would give Naruto one more go at capturing her.

He wouldn't miss this time.

"Going so soon? Credits aren't even rolling yet." The girl stood up, entirely willing to take his challenge. Naruto's shit-eating grin only grew.

They both tensed, the girl crouched lower, and Naruto channeled more chakra into his feet. No longer needing to keep up the pretense of tanking the hit, he let chakra visibly coalesce around his countering fist. _If you can't surprise 'em, scare 'em._

The girl launched again, much faster than last time. Sadly for her, Naruto had trained with Qrow, who was possibly one of the fastest huntsmen still active. Even taking into consideration this girl's semblance, there were only a few adjustments she could make to that trajectory. Too bad it wouldn't work.

The cross counter was a brutal defense.

Instead of launching it at the incoming girl, he punched a foot lower. His eyes widened as the illusion broke again, but his other fist was already moving. If she didn't change her direction, she'd be following his prediction. In that case, she'd be meeting the counter hook instead.

Naruto's left fist also passed through empty air.

Naruto stumbled as the momentum behind his fist carried him further. He stabilized quickly and turned to face his rear, which was the only avenue of attack left.

There was no one there.

It was that then the realization dawned on Naruto. The girl hadn't planned to attack him at all after the first fist was thrown. No sir, she's set up an illusion to make him believe she was attacking.

She'd started running off seconds before the second exchange even took place. _Clever girl._

"It's a pity she wasn't interested, that's the kinda girl I'd like to dance with." Naruto finished as he walked back into the club, already knowing in the back of his mind that Roman would be gone.

Fucking illusionists.

 _Through, I wonder... Those illusions appeared to be a light shell of aura left behind. I wonder if using chakra would affect the product…_

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Best to see what Junior got out of Roman.

* * *

Pyrrha let her feet carry through the corridors of Beacon as she reflected on the past couple weeks. It was something she had found herself doing far more often since the human psychology lessons with Miss Goodwitch and Naruto.

Not only that, Naruto's 'Bootcamp From Hell' had made her realize _just_ how rusty she let herself become sitting on that pedestal of 'The Invincible Girl.' Even if it wasn't intentional.

 _Yes,_ she thought, nodding to herself, _I needed this._ It had given her what she needed most, a direction. Sure, thinking of her team would never _not_ bring a smile to her face, especially Jaune, but she was at a loss for what to do with herself. Then Naruto came along and not only gave her a direction but also turned her fame into something that would help others.

While she maybe could have done without the snarky comments or the requirement of getting proficient at limping, the soothing heal-inducing meditation technique helped massively in keeping her team more or less unaware of _what_ precisely was going on each night. She smiled, it also had the nice side benefit of letting her sort out her feelings over her adorable team leader.

She knew he was struggling in combat class, and she wished she could help train him...but Naruto knocked some sense into her. He rightly pointed out that trying to instruct Jaune would actually backfire. _I really should have known better, Jaune uses an entirely different sword type and shield type._ She shook her head, partially in disappointment in herself and disappointment that she wasn't able to help Jaune like she wanted to. _It's for the best after Naruto finishes getting me up to par. I'll ask him if we can bring Jaune into the exercise sessions._ Gods know Jaune needed some more muscle on him. As adorable as his current noodle-form was, it would kill Pyrrha if he died because she didn't insist on him bulking up a bit.

A blush spread across her face even as she licked her lips. _And entirely not for more mental images of sweaty, defined, shirtless Jaune smiling at her._

"Man, this place is a dump... Wait, is that a bedspread?"

Let it be known that it was not usual for people to get the drop on Pyrrha, not anymore at least. Sadly, she knew two blondes who made it an art. Considering how loud they were, one wouldn't expect such stealth, but apparently, it ran in the family.

"So, this is where you disappear off to every few nights, eh Champ?" Yang teased, moving in front of her. "So, mind telling me what _is_ this place exactly?"

Well, she'd have to look around to answer that exact question. She had a habit of just letting her feet carry her around, gave her more time to think. She looked around and promptly decided to get rid of the new habit the first chance she got.

Training arena number seven. Naruto's secret class.

"Well, I have a perfectly good explanation… somewhere." Pyrrha hesitated. She didn't, and it was apparent. Yang - like her brother - was not an easy person to lie to either.

"Oh, this outta be good. So what's that good explanation then?" Yang all but demanded. Pyrrha gulped. Her head was merely empty, offering her no easy lies, no misdirections.

Thankfully, she didn't need to come up with one.

"I could ask you the same, Yang. What are you doing here?" Naruto appeared in a flurry of leaves. There was a firm, disappointed - but resigned - look on his face, and it was directed at both the girls in the room.

"Well, I noticed that Girl Wonder's fighting style in Goodwitch's class had changed dramatically. She got the lead out of her head and her boots, has been using mind-games, and was way more willing to throw the first punch." She shrugged, "Dunno, reminded me of a certain _someone_ she's been having 'detention' with for no apparent reason."

Naruto sighed, "She agreed to this of her own volition, Yang. You need to let secrets be secrets."

Yang shook her head. "There are no secrets between family, Naruto. You're the one who preaches that."

Naruto looked away, "S'not my secret to give away. You know me better than that Yang."

"You're still doing it, you know?" Yang commented.

"Doing what?" Naruto asked.

Yang growled. "That tough guy act of yours. You've always had it on when you're doing something dangerous!"

Naruto grinned. "Well, it's pretty effective at keeping you and Ruby out of trouble, innit?"

Yang growled harder as her eyes flashed red, "Yeah, but you just effectively shut us out! I'm training to become a huntress too, same as you!"

"No, you aren't, Yang. _Ruby_ is training to be a Huntress. You are just here to keep her safe." He looked her in the eye, "The Profs talk y'know? You haven't been putting too much effort in, not even in Glynda's combat class."

"I knew you'd notice that. You always have. You still don't know why I'm here, or am I wrong?" Yang countered, and Naruto grimaced.

"... you chose this because of her, didn't you?" He asked.

"Just like you did. Plus, let's be honest. There isn't much else we're good for, are we?" She asked with an easy resigned smile on her face. It left Naruto at a loss for words. And Pyrrha feeling like she was violating something extremely private by being here.

A bitter smile crept onto his face, "No." Whatever fight he had building left him. "No, I suppose we aren't."

A tired look crept onto Yang's face, "You can't shelter me forever, Big Bro."

His smile lost more energy, "No, but I can certainly try."

It was an argument they never stopped having.

Naruto finally glanced over to where Pyrrha was awkwardly standing, looking anywhere but the scene in front of her. "Right, well. Freeform night it is then." He cracked his neck and his back. "You two versus me. No weapons."

He walked to the center of the room and held his arms out wide, "Land a hit on me before our resident 'Girl Wonder' here, Yang, and I'll consider asking the man in the high castle."

Yang's hair _glowed_ as she cracked her knuckles. Pyrrha herself got ready, but not for a two versus one like Naruto declared.

She sighed, _I have a feeling this is going to become far more common._

Neo observed the two police officers walking down the sidewalk. While generally in a city like Vale it wasn't such an unusual sight, in this part of the town it indeed was. Most police would cruise by in a car and call it a day.

As Neo flited to the next rooftop, she pondered why. _Are they bait?_ She shook her head, _unlikely- The redhead is jumpy, her partner…_

Frankly, the other cop was _huge_. Her eyes widened in disbelief, she didn't have the best of views, but it certainly looked like his arms were nearly as thick as her head. Even Aura-enhanced as she was she'd still have to watch out for him.

Hopping to the next roof, she easily kept pace with their sedate walk. _New cop, old cop? Is he touring her the beat?_

The next turn answered that question. They were without a doubt heading towards Junior's Bar.

Cops did go to Junior's bar for drinks, but that couldn't be a reason. Junior's club only opened at night, and it was bright and early in the day right now.

Junior was going to snitch, and she knew exactly what about.

"Calm down, Rook. It's SOP. Empty bar, one witness. He's even coming in willingly. We shouldn't run into any trouble." The elder cop sounded gruff, curt even. He knew his business. If anyone was going to get Junior to talk, it would be this guy.

"It's my first, Sarge. It would be wrong for me not to be tense." The redhead replied. A greenhorn, then? She wouldn't be much trouble.

'Sarge' snorted, "You'll do fine. Just follow my lead and stay frosty."

"Roger." The rookie answered, and they continued on their way. Junior's bar was just around the corner. Once they got in, she'd be forced to act. On the other hand, she could take them out right here, but camera surveillance was a hazard. There was only so much one could do with illusions, especially if she didn't know _where_ they were.

 _A murder_ was something a lot more personal.

Before she could make a decision, it was made for her. The police officers made it to the club and passed through the doors. She couldn't do that, so she entered through the roof exit. She took her place between the lighting in the club. She made it in time because the policemen had barely even finished introductions.

"So, what did you call us here for, Junior?" Sarge asked, leaning down on the bar-top. Junior looked pretty unperturbed on the other side, and why would he not be? Junior's bar was a hotbed of criminal dealings. He'd dealt with more cops than one could count.

It was the fact that Junior had called out these cops that made her feel uneasy. He _was_ going to blab, but what about?

"Mornin', Officer. I might have something for you dealing with the recent dust robberies." Junior answered, and Neo almost fell out of her hiding place in shock. The fool was going to blab, he was actually going to give up his domineering career in the underworld, _but why_?

"Well, Information, huh? We already know who the alleged perpetrator is. Do you really have anything more to add to the story?' The greenhorn asked, Sarge just chuckled.

"Kid, this here man is Junior Xiong. If there's anyone that knows what's going on, it's him." He explained, moving his attention back to Junior. "So?"

"I want witness protection for my crew and me. The assholes running the show are powerful, and I feel I might be out of my depth here." Junior answered, making Neo's sense of trepidation rise.

" 'Knew it'd bite you in the ass someday," Sarge stated, and Junior acquiesced to the accusation.

Junior looked annoyed at that comment. "They just took some of my goons, but they swing by regularly to remind me that I'm in their pockets. I even hired additional security, but it doesn't seem to be enough." Neo's mind returned to her fight a few nights ago. The man she'd faced… he was terrifying. Either Junior believed them to be more of a threat than they were, or she'd left a lasting impression on that fighter.

She knew very well that it couldn't be the latter. The guy had her dead-to-rights.

Sarge grunted, "Hmm, so, witness protection for a bunch of people for intel that might-or-might-not be of use to us. It sounds like we're getting ripped off, Junior." Neo had to give it to the man. He was certainly no sucker. What info could Junior provide them that they didn't already have?

"Recently, one of my newly-hired bodyguards got into a fight with one of these people. After the fight, he was able to track down this person to her base of operations." Junior answered with finality.

Okay, _fuck_.

This was seriously bad news. She wouldn't put it past that fighter to have done so. As such, she had to do damage control. That fighter was out of the equation. She couldn't kill him, but maybe she could sic Cinder on to him.

As for Junior, he had to be dealt with here and now.

So Neo, nestled in her hiding spot between two lights, came up with a plan of attack. She couldn't use the 'diversion' method, because if that 'bodyguard' was around, he'd see right through it. She couldn't alert Roman and back off because their base was filled with dust and bullheads. Queen Bitch would likely burn them alive if they let all that stuff go.

Her only option was to kill Junior and make her escape. She took out her phone and wrote out a quick text to Roman, updating him on the situation. Meanwhile, the trio at the bar had decided to continue this conversation at the local police station.

She had to act now.

And so she did. She waited as Junior walked out towards the door with the two policemen flanking him. She paused and lined up her plunge, waiting for Junior to be directly below her. Once he was, she dropped. There was no chance that Junior would be able to dodge this. He didn't have the training, speed or aura to resist such a blow.

Which is why it came as a surprise to her when Junior casually sidestepped her plunge and lodged his large foot into her abdomen.

The surprise was enough to make her lose control of her aura momentarily, hence she was undefended when Junior's fist closed in on her face. She barely got to see her assailant as he plunged his fist into her face.

With some light smoke and a blurring haze, it suddenly wasn't Junior.

It was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed bulldozer that had the same infuriating grin as that monster she'd come across last week. The strength of the punch was enough to confirm that this was - in fact - the very same person.

"Not so fun when you're on the receiving end, is it?" He spoke, as Neo's body was plowed into the ground by the sheer force of the punch. Her head swam as she felt a pair of handcuffs being fastened to her wrists.

She lost consciousness moments later.

"Gods be damned Naruto, I _just_ got the glass floor fixed up." Sarge, or rather the real Junior, groused.

His only repose was that shit-eating grin, "Oops."

Pyrrha 'Rook' Nikos fidgeted with the bun her hair was done up in until it came apart, letting out a sigh of relief as it did. "That was...nerve-wracking."

"You did a good job though, consider this your first successful assignment as an anti-personnel huntsman!" Naruto prodded the downed criminal with his foot. "That too with zero casualties!"

Junior frowned. "Wait, you were expecting one of us to die?"

Naruto shrugged. "Well, if I wasn't able to neutralize her instantly, or had she chosen you as her target instead of me, there was the possibility that _someone_ would have died before I could even get to her. Thankfully, she was smart enough to not target a police officer!"

Junior grumbled, "...or maybe she just _really_ wanted me dead."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Which reminds me, that was by far the most effective method-acting I've ever seen in my life. Were you ever a policeman before you decided to be the polar opposite of one?"

Put under the spotlight, Junior stammered. "Well, uh, I've dealt with my fair share of policemen in the bar… I guess I just kinda picked up on their mannerisms?" A flimsy excuse, but he would hold on to it till he died. He didn't want Naruto to bring him in under the suspicion of having impersonated an officer of the law. Or that the identification on the uniform and in his pocket wasn't a cheap fake.

Speaking of which…

"So, what are you going to do with her now?" Junior asked, pointing at the assassin. They couldn't take her to the cops, considering her method of capture had to be explained, and there was no real evidence of her assault. Plus, they'd be indicted for impersonation of a government official... and theft of government property if the uniforms were any indication.

Pyrrha fidgeted in discomfort.

"Ehhhh, to be honest, didn't really think this was going to work," Naruto admitted. When they all turned to her with various grades of disbelief, he pouted. "What? How was I supposed to know Junior would be able to convince a criminal underground assassin he was as a legitimate cop?"

"Can we not talk about my acting? We have bigger fish to fry." Junior spoke, motioning towards the assassin in question. Naruto stood silent for a moment, one hand on his hips and the other holding his chin. Finally, he spoke.

"When in doubt, calmly panic in Ozpin's direction."

* * *

Naruto stared at Ozpin.

Ozpin sipped coffee.

Pyrrha fidgeted nervously, eyes down and hand clasped behind her back.

Ozpin sighed, "As you are so fond of saying 'so let me get this straight': You stole police uniforms, had a criminal and one of our star students impersonate police officers in broad daylight, then launched a attack on a civilian with your only evidence being 'We _didn't_ see her spy on us'?"

Naruto pouted, "Well when you put it like that…"

Ozpin smirked, "And now you've brought her here. To Beacon. Filled with people, she could easily kill if she breaks out of…" he trailed off, only now realizing Naruto did never mention _how_ he was going to be keeping her.

Naruto grinned, feeling terribly proud of himself, "Ah. The keyword here is _if_. _If_ she breaks out."

Ozpin nodded, "Alright, I'm listening…"

"Well, y'know that-" he stopped and looked at Pyrrha, "- _place_ you have? The one that's really secure?"

Ozpin sniffed, "Yes..."

Naruto's confidence was now in full swing, "Well, I was thinking, you have lots of room down there. _If_ she gets out, she's going nowhere."

Ozipin nodded again. He couldn't refute the secret vault _was_ a secure place to put a deadly criminal. " _If._ Yes… _if_ is good."

Ozpin gave a small grin while Naruto had transitioned to a full toothy one, so far Glynda was unaware. Both prayed it would stay that way.

Pyrrha was starting to feel like a third wheel, again.

She jolted to attention when Naruto cleared his throat, "Thanks for cooperating Pyrrha. Take the rest of the week off, I have things to handle, and you need some team bonding."

She smiled and nodded, "Of course. Thank you, Naruto." She hesitated, chewing on something mentally before nodding again and heading off to the elevator.

The eccentric duo watched as the doors closed and listened as the elevator began its descent to the ground floor.

"So-" he began. Ozpin, however, had other ideas.

"Do you really believe she will be able to live up to your standards?"

Naruto's mouth thinned, he had expected this conversation to happen for a while now. "I wouldn't be putting so much time into her if I hadn't. Why old man? Did you forget to call dibs?"

Said old man sighed, "Something of that nature, yes. She was my prime candidate for the transfer."

Naruto snorted at that, "You snooze, you lose, old man. Anyway, I should be moving the little lady to her new accommodations now."

Ozpin sent a concerned look in Neo's direction, "Has she been unconscious this whole time?"

Naruto laughed, "Nah, she's been awake since like half the walk here."

Ozpin leveled a dull glare at the obnoxious blond, "So, she's overheard everything."

"Yep-p"

Ozpin rubbed his temples, "and this was going to be your backup argument wasn't it."

"Yep-p"

He pinched his nose, "Just...just get out of my office please."

Naruto pumped his fist, "Right-on! Another girl for Ozpin's secret dungeon!"

Ozpin pointed to the elevator, looking like a migraine was coming on now. The now active Neo looked slightly panicked.

"Now."

Naruto smugged his way over to Neo, "Alright little lady, you can either stand, or I can carry you to a secret underground bunker where you will be held until further notice."

Neo resolutely sat on the ground, looking as defiant as one could while scuffed, scraped, bruised, and in handcuffs. Naruto shrugged, "Alright then." In one swift motion, he picked her up into a bridal carry, surprising Neo. Then he smirked and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Neo barely put up any resistance, knowing against him it was more or less futile.

Unfortunately for both of them, Naruto vastly underestimated how long it would take the elevator to reach the secret floor.

With a Ding! And a cry of "Finally!" from the blonde, he stepped out into the high ceiling vault. "Right, so what Oz doesn't know won't hurt him," he took a right at the intersection. "I spent some time down here putting together a fairly decent living space on the off chance my plan worked."

His footsteps and voice echoed down the empty corridor. Neo continued to dead fish on Naruto's shoulder.

"So it won't be the greatest, but it's a bed and a working bathroom." Neo finally hummed in response. "Ah, she speaks."

He dropped her, "Right well, here we are." She looked up and around. It was some divider walls, a bed, a table, two chairs...and she was impressed. Like he had said, it was a full bathroom with studier seeming walls. However, she was less than impressed by her door, or rather lack of. It was a curtain.

She gave him a rather flat look.

"Eh? You know, you really don't have much room to complain. Didn't have to go through with all this. Coulda just snapped your neck and called it a day." She nodded in reluctant understanding. It was true after all.

"Anyway!" He unlocked her cuffs, and she rubbed her wrists gingerly, her aura already at work. "I really don't have any way to secure you down here, so promise you'll stay in here and I'll promise to bring you a good square meal a day.

She looked at him in askance and incredulity.

"What? Look, I put some books under the bed, just stay in the room." He gestured around to the poorly lit high-vaulted ceiling and corridor."Really, this place is empty as all hell. The elevator is locked down seven ways to Sunday, and for the next month I'll be the only person you see every day _if_ you behave."

Neo frowned, it was a short stick. _A_ _very short stick._ But, she didn't have a choice. She agreed.

Naruto smiled, and she smiled back.

They weren't friendly smiles.

* * *

"So then whatshisface tried to _jump_ over the charging Ursa. In full plate." He snorted. "Idiot gets body checked by the damn thing and got slammed into the cliff wall."

Neo quickly scribbled on a sheet of paper, then held up the stylized '5' that resided on the paper now.

He frowned, "Aw, c'mon Neo. I did way better than that."

Neo smiled. Naruto knew that despite her characteristic snarkiness, she appreciated his company. She was weirdly talkative for someone who wouldn't speak without causing herself much pain.

She hadn't revealed anything about Roman, which was a testament to her loyalty. Naruto wasn't callous enough to threaten someone with physical harm if he wasn't going to follow through with it, especially considering he knew better ways to break people. The way Neo had clammed up and refused to tell Naruto a single thing about Roman implied that loyalty mattered more to the girl than perhaps even her own life.

Not that Naruto was willing to go far enough to find out.

Other than that, the girl was an absolute joy to hang out with, not that he would admit that to her.

She settled down on her bed and picked up the book Naruto had gotten her. Over the month of incarceration, her room had slowly filled up with creature comforts provided by Naruto himself. Books were apparently the possessions she prized most.

"So, you told me yesterday that you wanted to ask me for something," Naruto asked, sliding her a new sheet of paper. "What was it?"

Neo stopped-mid movement, a look of panic filling her expressive eyes. It took her less than a second to regain her composure, but that was all it took for Naruto to recognize her hesitation.

"It's… about Roman, isn't it?" He asked. Neo didn't answer, instead, taking a paper and scribbling on it. She passed the paper back to Naruto.

"Help him."

Naruto gulped. Between the look of barely-restrained terror on Neo's face and the genuineness of the action, Naruto couldn't understand why Neo would ask him - a well-known huntsman and to some criminals: Death - to help Roman Torchwick, one of the world's most wanted criminals.

At that very moment, he finally put two-and-two together.

"Roman's known in Vacuo for high-profile, low-chaos heists and robberies. Yet, ever since he's been in Vale, he's only been jumping dust stores." Naruto spoke, and Neo nodded. "He's not working alone, which is his preferred style, but with local thugs with barely any training to speak of... Causing massive property damage and making a scene."

Another nod.

"He's doing this under orders, isn't he?"

One more nod. Naruto almost dreaded asking the next question.

"And this person he's working for… is effectively holding him hostage?"

Again, a nod. _Fuck all kinds of duck._

"Who is this person? And how do you plan to get me to help?" Naruto asked, and Neo scrambled for another sheet. Naruto quickly provided it, and Neo got to writing again. After a minute, she stopped and handed the sheet to Naruto.

On the sheet was the entire, well-documented plan for a heist on Vale's harbor. A dust heist on a much larger scale than Roman's store-robberies. A heist on a _significant_ SDC shipment... that his dust smash-and-grabs generated the need for. It was a well thought-out, well-made plan. It was precisely what one would expect from someone like Roman Torchwick. The only bit that stood out was the fact that this was a plan that needed a more substantial workforce to accomplish.

"So, this workforce is coming from your 'benefactor,' is it not?"

Neo nodded again and took the sheet back from Naruto. On the other side, she scribbled four words and passed the sheet back to Naruto.

 **Cinder Fall**

 **White Fang.**

He didn't know who the first name was but a terrorist group? 'Mysterious' benefactor able to fund large-scale operations in a major city? A pit grew in Naruto's stomach.

"Well, looks like things went from 'odd' to 'Absolutely Fucked'...I need to bring Roman in ASAP, I don't like the implications of where this Dust may be going."

Neo merely nodded, a hopeful smile on her face.

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **Canon Omake: Henge training with the girls**

The Malachite sisters giggled.

It had been a busy time for them. The door would open, they would nitpick, the door would shut.

Behind the bathroom door, a female voice moaned, "C'mon girls, do I really have to?"

"Like, uh, totally! You aren't going to get any better hiding in the bathroom the whole time." Said, one sister.

"...and do the voice." added the other.

There was silence on both sides. One in resignation the other in anticipation.

Finally, the door opened to reveal a heavily blushing Melanie in her signature outfit. "Like, do I really have to do the voice too? It is like _that_ important is it?"

Her repose was a 'Squee' from the other Melanie and a serious nod from Militia.

"Like, Oh. My. God! This is so cool!" Melanie 1 pinched Melanie 2. "And you even, like, totally real and stuff!"

"Oww! Yes, I-" She got a glare from both girls. She sighed, "Uh yeah, I'm so 100% real and stuff. I'm just, like, that good." She got two approving nods.

"Militia! You know what this means?!"

"...triplets?"

Melanie 1 froze as her face showed growing shock and happiness, "Oh my god! You are totally right! We can be triplets!"

Then she frowned and looked over Melanie 2, who had a face of increasing panic. "We totally need to go shopping though. We so totally can't wear the same thing. That would be, like, totally uncool."

Melanie two saw a life preserver on the sea of estrogen and grabbed at it like a drowning man. "Woah girl, there's, like, no need to waste money! I can, uh, totally copy _any_ clothes if I can, like, get a feel for them!"

That life preserver was, however, covered in chum.

The twins turned to Melanie 2 with such descriptors such as 'similar to that of a heat-seeking missile.' Melanie 1 grabbed Melanie 2 by the shoulders while Militia stared intensely. "Like, for 100% realzies?"

Melanie 2 now in a full panic let her mouth talk before her brain. "Y-yeah! Like, 100% realzies!"

Melanie 1 let her go and 'Eeeee'd' again. "We are so going to get _sooo_ many guys!~"

 _That_ refocused Melanie 2. "W-what? N-no! I'm not going to find guys with you!"

Melanie 1 frowned thoughtfully. Militia sprung into action, "Stress test."

Unprepared and confused by the stream of events, the firm boob poke Militia just gave her flushed her face red with a blush before going up in smoke.

The smoke quickly dissipated to reveal Naruto standing there, rubbing his chest with a heavy blush on his face. "That felt…" His face crinkled, "...really weird."

Melanie frowned, "You're right Militia, he totally needs to get better at this before we can do anything super fun."

Naruto knew asking the Malachite sisters for help learning his body transform technique was a good plan.

But, Naruto also had a sinking feeling he was about to get far more practice in things he never wanted to practice in.


	4. Judge, Jury, Execution III

**Judge, Jury, Execution Arc: III**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Yellow Fever, but this time, less deadly.**

* * *

Jaune poked at his mashed potatoes. Or at least, what he assumed was mashed potatoes. It could be cauliflower. He had to be cautious after all because Beacon, for some reason, served _whole watermelons_. He never saw anyone eat them, but he assumed _someone_ did. _Right?_

He shook his head, his thoughts were drifting again. His time here at Beacon had been both fantastic and awful. On the one hand, he looked at his team and couldn't help but to smile. Nora was ever upbeat and energetic. Ren was stoic as always, nodding along and correcting Nora in her stories when needed. Pyrrha… Pyrrha was… his brow furrowed as he frowned. He didn't want to say something mean, like implying his partner was _awful,_ but…

He sighed, his own partner rarely had time for him. Ren noticed his sigh but chose not to comment on it. He appreciated that about Ren, he knew the time and place and when to say what. _Probably something he had to learn to deal with Nora_ , he thought ruefully.

But he was getting sidetracked again. His partner was a good person no doubt, his time being a brother to the _Arc sisters_ taught him how to pick his friends. Who _acted_ friendly and who was being genuine. Pyrrha Nikos was one-hundred percent authentic... when she wasn't plastering that fake smile on her face, that is. He frowned and poked at his school-fresh White Blob Mash™. That was the problem, he supposed, she never talked to them. Never had time for _him_ …

Speaking of his redheaded companion, he glanced up at his partner sitting across from him. _Yep, still shoveling food…_ If he really wanted to, he could blame everything on one person. _Naruto_. Ever since she started training with that monster, she barely had time for the team anymore. If she wasn't going to class or doing homework, she was training by herself or with Naruto. Or shoveling food into her apparently now-endless stomach. Unknowingly, she even out ate Nora once. Sure, he could talk in the hallways to class, but he sorely lacked in confidence these days. Getting a question rejected by his own partner in the hallways with all his peers around him?

He shook his head, _This may not be high school anymore, but it may as well be High School 2: Hunter Boogaloo. The jocks can bench press people, the nerds can bench press me… Hell, if Ruby ever lost her scythe, I might end up as an improvised weapon…_

Boisterous laughter broke his musing. Turning his head towards it, he watched as Naruto finish his laugh. By the looks on his and Team RWBY's faces, Yang had just finished telling an embarrassing story about Ruby, if her burying her face in her hands was any indication.

Generally, during lunch, he could at least talk to Team RWBY. Occasionally, Naruto found time to sit with them and spin stories to the amusement of the whole team, or to the embarrassment of Ruby or Yang…

He could glower, but he didn't have it in him. He was an older brother himself, and if he had the opportunity, he would absolutely sit with his adorable little sisters. And Naruto wasn't the one that fudged his way, green, into a premier huntsman school with fake papers.

He settled for a dull stare at the obnoxious blondes. Sure, he may not have put himself in an excellent position to start with, but Naruto had only made it worse.

A shriek of pain cut through the general chatter of the cafeteria. Naruto's head… well everyone's really, snapped over to the source. Cardin was there pulling on a bunny Fanus's ear.

He should feel sorry about it, but a spark of hope was kindled. Maybe this was his chance. Perhaps he could...march...up to Cardin… whose mace weighed probably as much as he did…

His eyes darted back to Naruto's face, and his intense suddenly Yang-red eyes. Or he could let the Vytal Champion who could probably deadlift a Bullhead handle it.

 _Wait, when did Naruto get red eyes?_

As soon as Naruto cleared his seat, he was over by the two students in a blur, green leaves trailing in his wake.

Next thing everyone knew, Cardin's face was eating the table.

"Alright shitstain, I'm going to say this very slowly to get it through your thick skull." Naruto leaned in close and practically growled at Cardin, "Are. You. A. Huntsman?"

From Jaune's admittedly poor view, Cardin's face looked like an interesting combination of pants-shitting terror and indignation. "W-Whu?" Jaune had to school his face, while RWBY giggled and Nora laughed, Cardin certainly _sounded_ like it too.

Naruto let out aggravated growl and lifted Cardin back to his feet, the rest of Team CRDL watching the going ons warily. "Are you, or are you not, a Huntsman-In-Training?"

The situation had begun to sink in for Cardin. "Y-yes?"

"Really?" He snarled, "Is that an answer or a question, Winchester?"

Cardin, apparently thinking he caught on barked out, "Sir, I'm a proud Huntsman-in-Training, Sir!"

Naruto released Winchester and crossed his arms, "Really Winchester? Is _that_ what you think you are?

The confusion was plain to see on Cardin's face. "Uh, S-sir?"

Naruto continued, "Because all I see right now is some jumped up teenager on his way to washing out and joining a bandit gang."

 _That_ silenced everyone if they weren't quiet already. A teacher, regardless of his age, just accused a student of going bandit, in the middle of the cafeteria, surrounded by said students peers.

Cardin was clearly not expecting that to come out of Naruto mouth. "W-wha? I'm no bandit!" His surprise gave way to rage, "My family has served as hunters for generations, and I will be no different!"

"Oh?" Jaune strained his neck and saw that Naruto's eyes had turned back to blue. _Note to self, ask Yang about that._ "You do know that we take an oath when we graduate to protect any and all people regardless of individual differences against threats domestic and foreign, right?"

"Uh…"

The cold stare Naruto was throwing about at Cardin, and the rest of his team could probably freeze water. "Huntsmen are the first, middle, and last lines of defense against any threats to our civilization's survival. If you can't perform that duty because you are too busy spreading misery to Faunus just because they look different from you? Then you are no better than a common bandit."

He raised a hand to calm the likely outburst building in Cardin. "I'm not saying you have to have Ruby-levels of optimism and hand out free hugs or whatever." Ruby blushed deeply at that while Yang shot her a fond smile. "I'm _saying_ stow your shit opinions up your ass where they belong and do your fucking job before a Hunter like me does it for you. _Permanently_. Are we clear?"

"Ye-" Cardin cleared his throat, "Yes, Sir."

Naruto nodded, "Good, go take your team on a long walk through the courtyard and give it a good think. You'll be serving detentions shared between Glynda and Oobleck for the next month."

Aware of the eyes of the entire cafeteria on them, Team CRDL silently filed out, their peers clearing a path for them as they walked.

After a beat, Naruto himself turned towards the exit and barked, "Velvet Scarlatina, fall in!"

An 'eep!' echoed through the silent room before the student Cardin had been picking on followed Naruto.

After a good minute, it seemed like nothing else would happen, and everyone slowly drifted back to the small talk they had been making beforehand.

All except Team RWBY, they didn't seem much in the mood for it at the moment.

He looked across to his partner to ask her what she thought, and she was still eating. _And by the looks of it, she didn't even notice what happened..._

He sighed and finally took a bit of the blob he'd been poking at forever now. And immediate spit it out. _Ugh, cold mashed cauliflower._

* * *

Yang let out a yell as her fist crashed against Pyrrha's shield.

It wasn't till she'd faced Pyrrha did Yang realize just why Naruto had chosen her exclusively for his little 'project.'

Yang ducked awkwardly under the retaliatory swipe from Pyrrha as her fist was still stuck to the shield.

She was a monster in training. Her entire life had built her up to fight human opponents. Sure, she could kill Grimm like anyone's business, but she had particular advantages against human opponents. She had the mental fortitude to never let her guard down against even the strongest of hits, and she had the tactical prowess to turn even the most disadvantageous of situations into her favor.

Most importantly, though, was the fact that her semblance was borderline broken.

Yang activated the inbuilt trigger causing the Ember Celica to spew out its explosion, jarring Pyrrha's concentration and freeing her hand from the shield.

Every huntsman used metal weaponry to some extent or the other. Even pugilists like herself and Naruto used weaponry so the moment Pyrrha blocked a Huntsman's first hit, it was pretty much over for them.

A one-touch disable for non-ranged opponents, a perfect guard against long ranged ones.

Of course, it was all for naught if she couldn't touch her opponent's weapon, either directly or indirectly. She was the perfect foil for Yang, but that matchup went both ways.

The two recovered and warily squared up against each other again.

Pugilists like herself depended on hit-and-run tactics. Her gauntlets employed fire dust exclusively because it allowed her to create distance and break concentration. If not for it, she'd never be able to enter Pyrrha's semblance-range. Hence, their matches came down to whether Yang ran out of shells first or Pyrrha's concentration was sapped.

It was a match made in hell, cause heaven didn't want anything to do with it.

"You don't make this easy, I'll give ya that." Yang cursed as she readied herself for another excursion into Pyrrha's guard. Her opponent just smiled.

Sadly, her excursion would have to wait, as the boy of her dreams literally waltzed through the open door. Pyrrha noticed him too, and her reaction was quite similar.

He was what some of her… magazines… would call 'bishonen,' with princely features adorning his dusky skin-tone. He had slicked-back purple hair that stood at-odds slightly with his chestnut three-piece suit. His dressing sense was impeccable, and everything he wore was probably from a designer label.

Wonder how someone their age got the money to buy such expensive-looking stuff.

"Wow, they still haven't patched up the old stomping grounds, have they?" He spoke, in a slightly effeminate but well-modulated voice, taking in the sight of the old training arena. "Always knew that Ozpin spent more on his coffee budget than he did on renovations."

Yang took this chance to rush in, with Pyrrha not far behind. "Hello there! What brings you to our humble abode?" Yang began. The hunk finally noticed her, and his confused expression quickly gave way to a pleasant smile.

"Well, I was just wondering who this arena was relegated to." He then eyed up Pyrrha and Yang, "Seems like it's in good hands."

"Our teacher uses this place to give us private lessons," Pyrrha answered. Yang saw the opportunity, and she fucking took it.

"I'd let you give us lessons here if you want." She leaned in, giving the man a free view of her 'assets.' To his credit, he didn't even blush. Instead, his smile just widened.

"My, got a name I can associate with those puppies or nah?" He asked, and Yang smiled.

"Name's Yang." The guy's face darkened just a little, but Yang was already doing the damage that needed to be done. "Yang Xiao Long."

The boy _physically_ recoiled, he moved back, one step at a time. "Oh no no no! No can do sir-ee! I like my spine _exactly where it is_." The voice that came out of his mouth was much too squeaky, having lost any and all modulation. Suddenly, Yang had doubts.

Yang cocked an eyebrow at the sudden one-eighty this person's personality had taken. "And exactly why would you fear for your spine, of all things?"

The bishounen's eyes widened. "There are only three things in this world I'm scared of...Responsibility, grenade launchers, and-"

"And me," Naruto spoke, stepping into the arena with another student by his side. The bishonen turned slowly, fear etched into his features. Suddenly, he didn't feel so 'dreamy.'

"Sup, Jaz, still binding those A-cup breasts of yours?"

The bishonen _girl_ literally almost jumped out of her skin when Naruto tapped her shoulder. "I swear I was _not_ trying to hit up your sister, Naruto. It was all her, I swear!"

Naruto regarded 'Jaz' with silence. He then cleared his throat and - in an uncannily close copy of Jaz's original tone, spoke.

" _My, got a name I can associate with those puppies or nah?"_

Jaz was positively sweating at this point. "H-hey! I didn't even know she was your sister. She looks _nothing_ like that photo of her that you've got in your wallet!"

Naruto grunted, "She was eight years old back then. Your point?"

Yang perked up at this. "Ooh! You have a photo of me in your wallet?"

Jaz nodded, realizing that she'd successfully deflected the topic. "Yup! You, Ruby, and your father!"

"You're not helping your case here, Jaz." Naruto commented, "Also, what are you doing here?"

Jaz shrugged, "Well, I was called in for a mission, gotta take the kids out to Forever Fall. Security duty and all that jazz." She then glared at Naruto. "And what about you? Mister 'I need to take mission over the summer so I can't come to the Vacuo road trip'?"

Naruto grunted, "Well, I already had enough missions, so I'm getting some teaching experience in."

Jaz cocked an eyebrow. "You? A teacher? Don't joke around. You are practically an anarchist." She looked around, her eyes resting momentarily on the items Naruto had set-up in the room. The target range was new, so was the training dummy. He'd even patched up the heavy bags they'd destroyed back in Second Year. Plus, there were the two students.

"...holy shit, you aren't kidding." She spoke, unable to believe it.

"Wait, so you're Jasmine, Naruto's team leader?" Yang asked. Jasmine gave her one of her trademark 'lady-killer' smiles.

"Yes indeed, I'm the ever-handsome Jasmine Amir, leader of Team ORNJ… or Team ORJ, whenever Naruto wasn't around." She winked, and Naruto's glare grew more intense.

"So you're the person who kept Naruto away from other women in the three years he spent in Beacon, am I correct?" Yang asked.

"Partly, yes. My other gals were definitely helpful in that regard too." Jasmine spoke, noticing Yang's smirk grow.

"You've done my work for me for three years, Jaz, thank you!" Yang spoke, giving the girl a bear hug. She then leaned in. "Also, don't tell Naruto, but I play for both teams." She whispered into Jasmine's ear.

"For my personal safety, I'm going to act like I didn't hear that," Jasmine concluded, breaking apart from the hug. She then walked over to Naruto and clutched his arm, pulling him away.

"As for you, you're coming with me. We have matters to discuss." Jasmine spoke, trying her hardest to get Naruto to move.

"Fine, let's go." Naruto finally acquiesced, leaving the training room with Jasmine, leaving the two stunned first-years behind. Also revealing Velvet, who had been standing behind Naruto all this while, who looked utterly lost.

"Hey Yang, I didn't understand one thing," Pyrrha asked.

"What was it, Pyrrha?" Yang asked, walking over to Velvet. Apparently, Naruto's 'project' had grown again.

"Why did Jasmine say 'ORJ' like 'ORJ-EE'?"

Yang gave her a side-long smirk and pat her on the head. "You are just as precious as Ruby sometimes, you know?"

Yang grabbed Velvet's hand and pulled her into the training arena. "Right! Person I don't know, time for a battle royale!" And before anyone could contest it, she spun around and shot-putted the poor Fanus into an unprepared Pyrrha.

* * *

Jasmine didn't really have a location in mind when she dragged away Naruto. In the end, she ended up letting him lead her to a Bullhead which they took to Vale, a stilted silence between them. After a short rooftop dash, the had dropped down and entered a bar.

A bar with what looked to be blast-proof steel doors.

Her question of "Since when did you go to bars?" was met with stony silence.

She received the same answer when she asked what he was doing when he gave a hand signal to a _sizeable_ scruffy-looking man.

Or when some hot possibly underaged girl broke off from her red counterpart and guided them through a hallway of backrooms.

They were guided into a high class looking room with comfy looking seats and a quality coffee table. She was broken from her observations with the _click KA-CHUNK_ of the door closing and locking.

Naruto took a seat and motioned for her to do the same. When she did so a slight static crackled in the air.

Finally, Naruto opened his mouth, "Sorry Jaz, can't be too careful these days." He gave her a warm smile, "But really, it's good to see you again."

She frowned, "And what exactly is going on? Where have you been? Can't be too careful? You, a professor? Since when did you frequent bars? Or more specifically, how do you know a guy who owns a bar with an EMP, Faraday Cage room with blast doors?"

He leaned back and ran his hands through his hair, "It's kinda a long story…"

She motioned with her hand, "Well? Go on, you pulled me down here, and I'm not going anywhere 'till I get it."

Naruto's face scrunched like he had bitten a lemon, he only got like that when he knew she wasn't going to like what he was going to say or do. "I've been taking on some janitorial jobs."

 _And he is right, I_ don't _like it._ "Naruto you fucking moron! You said you wouldn't!" She was righteously pissed and for a good reason. "Those missions are illegal for Fourth Years, and you know it!"

Her response was a weary aged look, one she saw on Huntsman twice his age. "I said I would try not to. And I didn't...until…" He looked away.

"Until what? What could have been so important?" She demanded.

His mouth thinned, "Until Ozpin asked me to. Uncle Qrow had been doing it for the past decade on Oz's orders. Oz wanted Qrow to take the sorts of missions that get you a Wanted poster. He needed someone to take over the lighter missions. Me."

"And you just said yes?" She felt like crying, the path of a Hunter had a high-casualty/defection rate, and they both knew it. It was her job to look after the team, but they always made it so hard for her.

Naruto didn't say anything. He took out his wallet and slipped something from it. She knew what it was, he often did it before missions. He just stared at the well-worn photograph. "You know why."

She looked away, _Yeah. I do._ When it came to his younger siblings, she knew there was a minimal amount of things he would not do.

"So that's what you been doing, eh?" Before he could respond, she continued, "You dropped out of contact, and likely _avoided_ us for…" She gestured to the room in general, "getting caught up in this?"

He blushed in embarrassment, "It seemed like a good idea at the time, I knew you would get mad."

She shot out of her seat, "Dammit Naruto! Of fucking course, I would get mad! I'm your team leader! I care about you... we all do." She collapsed back into her seat, energy drained. "You always do this…"

"...sorry." He put away the picture and tucked his wallet away.

She looked away, "You always say that."

"...sorry."

They sat in silence for a while. She appreciated it, it gave her time to settle herself down, and probably let Naruto gather his thoughts.

Finally, he spoke, "Junior, the owner, has been helping me Hunt Roman Torchwick. I'm doing _that_ because something has Ozpin spooked and he recalled me because of it."

That has her worried, "Something spooked _Ozpin_?"

He didn't respond beyond just a nod. They lapsed into silence again. She let it be, she could always ask her questions later. She had the time.

 _So Naruto is a Prof now huh? ...and so the rebel becomes a leader._

"You take your time Naruto, I'll be here all week." She got up, straightened out her clothes. Checked her hair for imperfections. She felt her looks were satisfactory she clicked the button to unlock the door.

Leaving Naruto to his thoughts, she walked out and began her _Hunt_ for those twins. _I saw the look you two gave him, let's see if I still have it._

If she had looked at him one last time, she would have seen him there, holding that picture once again. Staring at it with a determined glint in his eyes.

* * *

"So yeah, basically, that was the first time I scored with twins," Jasmine spoke unto her enraptured audience of eight kids, one being too young to hear this. Thankfully for Jaz's sake, Ruby had a headset on and was blasting music.

"This makes me slightly nauseous, and I'm pretty sure the airship has nothing to do with it," Jaune spoke, gaining a glare in return from Yang.

"Sure, Jaune. Stories of sexual conquest are what make life worth living." She spoke, giving Jasmine a knowing grin. The grin was returned almost instantly.

"Sure, sure," Jaune reasoned, settling down into his seat. "It's just that I never thought I'd be hearing intimate details about my sister's sex-life from a relative stranger."

"... I'm not really a stranger, considering I've been with your sisters." Jasmine said, wrapping an arm around Jaune's shoulders. "Hell, at this point, I'm practically family!"

"Please, just… stop talking." Jaune moaned, burying his face in his hands. The rest of the group tried their hardest to hold in their laughter, but it was a losing battle.

"Still, hard to believe that an Arc showed up at Beacon. Isn't failing to get into Vale-based academies part of the great 'Arc-curse'?" Jasmine questioned. She noticed the beads of sweat that started to form on Jaune's forehead. His slight change of tone was not missed either.

She was a team leader, dealing with others is what she did for a living.

"Y-yeah, Dad was pretty happy when he learned I got into Beacon. Only sibling that actually did." Jaune replied. Jasmine was pretty sure he was lying, but about what? He was in Beacon, and he was a team leader. Her family was one made entirely of career huntsmen too. She knew the kind of prestige that came from being a leader.

So why was Jaune so shifty about all this?

"So, does the fact that I slept with your sisters make you angry, Jaune?" Jasmine taunted, trying to get a rise out of Jaune. It was a small test, from one leader to another. A check whether Jaune would be able to keep his cool when taunted.

"Nope. They got their own lives." Jaune shrugged. "Plus, I'm one of the youngest of the bunch. While I do take care of the house, and my sisters, they're their own people. They get to decide what's best for them, you know?"

Jasmine was expecting many things. This was not one of them. Sure, the kid was embarrassed by her recount, but that was it. There was no protectiveness, just a very logical, calm-headed rationale. She was convinced that had her story been malicious, the response she'd get from him would have been very much more physical.

The kid had the traits to make a good leader. His lack of ability was a shame, though.

Reminded her of herself, just a few years ago.

"If it makes you feel better, I had a genuinely good time with your sisters. Shame that distance keeps us apart." Jasmine patted his back and gave him a genuine smile.

"Plus, if it weren't me taking them for a spin, it would have been Naruto."

Jaune's face instantly whitened. He turned and put his hands on Jasmine's shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Jasmine, if you need to go as far as to _marry_ my sisters, you have my blessing. Take all seven of them if you want. Just promise you'll keep them away from Naruto." He begged, taking Jasmine by surprise. What kind of fear had Naruto instilled in these kids to make them fear him so much?

It was then that she was reminded of those early morning training sessions Naruto did, which the rest of team ORNJ decided to follow one beautiful day. Naruto was now their teacher, and while that little detail might have changed, she doubted what he thought of as an 'acceptable training schedule' would. Suddenly, it became a lot clearer.

"You have my solemn promise, Jaune."

* * *

Velvet had an… odd week. It started with some racist bullying from one of the first-years. Coco always told her she had to stand up for herself, but it still was so hard to do that when surrounded by indifferent people. Then the new student-professor showed up to put an end to it right in front of everyone, giving Winchester a dressing down in front of everyone. She frowned at that, Naruto, in her opinion, went too far accusing the first year of 'going bandit'...

She glanced over at the broad back of the person she was following. Speaking of Naruto… he had ordered her to follow him, and when they had reached a secluded point in Beacon he gave her a Coco Lecture™ about standing up for herself and the precedent she sets for others as a second year… and she had to admit it was more impactful than the speeches Coco gave her. _Not that the speeches Coco gives me are bad!_ It was just different, being told that by someone as unintentionally intimidating as Naruto.

That weird day eventually ended with Naruto dragging her off to a training room, him being accosted by apparently his old cross-dressing teammate, learning Yang, Naruto's little sister, swung that way - everyone forgets her bunny ears _aren't_ for decoration - and eventually being left behind as Naruto forgot about her.

Left behind to deal with the Untouchable Champion of Mistral and _Naruto's younger sister._ What followed would never be spoken of, _especially_ not to Coco. Yang declared a 'Battle Royale' and proceeded to use her as an improvised weapon against Pyrrha.

Thoroughly dazed at that point, she didn't have much inhibition left in her. Her Semblance allowed her to take them both by surprise and put a - according to them - quick end to the fight.

She doubted it would work a second time. She shivered, she really didn't want there to be a second time either. There was _no way_ she could match their blows if they were both fresh and not taken by surprise.

But… Naruto hadn't been mad when he came to get her today. Actually apologized to her for the whole incident.

Offered the possibility of some training to pay her back. She accepted, he looked so embarrassed by the whole thing it reminded her of herself.

She looked around and realized they were approaching the training room.

Aaaand now she was blushing. Her face burned remembering what Coco had said to her after Naruto came around to pick her up. She wished her team leader would stop teasing her sometimes, putting emphasis on the words _training_ and _personal_ like that!

Naruto finally spoke as he walked into the training room with her following shortly behind. "Alright Velvet, you are going to tell me exactly what your hangup is."

She didn't know what to say. She had been expecting a speech or some instructions to begin warming up…

"Or," he continued seeing her hesitance, "We can go with option two: Hardcore training every day until the problem solves itself."

That...she also wasn't expecting that. She got the feeling that maybe she should take her expectations out back and have them shot because they were clearly failing her. But, it had it be asked, "How would hardcore training solve a problem you don't know?"

He snorted and waved to the semi-destroyed training grounds, "There is very little that hardcore training _can't_ solve, I have found."

 _Well, he's not wrong._ Hardcore training helped her get to where she was, but she had a distinct feeling a nearly A-Grade Huntress like herself had a significantly different definition of what 'Hardcore' entails, compared to a Dark Horse Vytal Champion.

"So…" She didn't exactly know how to talk with him. Does she treat him like a peer? A professor? _Geh, why couldn't he have taken Coco instead?_

Naruto seemed to sense her indecision and saved her from just standing there awkwardly. "Right, so like I said, we can do this one of two ways. You tell me now what's up or I grind it out of you with training. Either way, problem solved, right?"

If Velvet could sweatdrop like in the cartoons, at this moment she would. It sounded very much like both options would end with her being trained by him. Not that she had anything against it. But… It wouldn't be with her team. It wouldn't be with Coco.

 _But Coco seemed to know what was going on… She wants me to take on his training?_

She could imagine it now, going back to the dorm only to have Coco sending her running back to Naruto to accept his training. _Oh, gods, that would be embarrassing._

She was brought out of her thoughts by Naruto snapping his fingers in her face. "You okay there Vel?"

She blushed and stammered, "Y-yes! Sorry! I'll talk!" She paused and in a more subdued voice said, "…and can we train too?" She knew Coco was going to tease her about this no matter what happened. When a Vytal Festival Champion offers you no-strings-attached free training, you take it. _…At least I'm pretty sure that's what Coco would say…_

Naruto gave her a bright grin, one that made her imagine Coco just waggling her eyebrows at. "Alright, we can do both no problem." He walked to the center of the pockmarked room and spread his hands wide. "Let's start it off with a spar! Give me your best shot!"

"I… okay." Velvet spoke, taking out her camera. It wasn't till she was ready to take a picture that she realized a simple fact. Naruto wasn't using his weapon.

"Well, if you don't plan to start, I will," Naruto spoke as he stepped forward, completely unarmed. Making a split-second decision, Velvet summoned Yang's gauntlets, which she had photographed last time. _Considering she is Naruto's sister, there must be some similarities in their fighting styles, right?_

It was anything but. Naruto's angle of attack, his footwork, even his basic movements were rubble alien to her. It was nothing like Yang's style, nothing like any style she'd ever seen in her life.

Still, she could see weaknesses in it. She punched forward as Naruto did the same. With the added range from Yang's shotgun gauntlets, she'd hit first no matter what. Did she overestimate his abilities?

She didn't realize she'd been hit till she hit the ground.

"That was a flawless execution on your part, Vel. I'm not sure whether Yang could have done it better." Naruto spoke, hopping in place, beckoning for her to stand up. "It lacked something though. Had you been Yang, that would have landed before my hit."

Velvet got up with much ease. It had been a jab. Naruto had come in with a heavy punch but replaced it with a quick jab at the last second. The attack was so fast that it was impossible to see but had left next-to-no damage either. It was a guard-breaker.

"You see, Velvet, there are two fields where both Yang and Pyrrha are far ahead of you." With those words, Naruto disappeared from her view. Before she could blink, he was right in front of her, and his fist was buried in her stomach.

"Speed," he spoke, drawing back his right fist. She could swear there was a coating of blue energy surrounding it, but she couldn't be sure. Her concentration was utterly eradicated by Naruto's opening punch, and anyone who'd ever seen Naruto in action knew what would follow.

"And strength." Naruto finished, using his empowered fist to finger-flick Velvet's forehead. The power behind the flick was enough to knock the bunny Faunus back a few steps and back to the ground.

"I know you've spent your first year as a 'support' cast of sorts, and I know that support huntsmen are extremely important in our field of work," Naruto spoke, helping Velvet get back to her feet as she nursed her aching face. "Your skill set, Vel, isn't made for support. If trained right, you could be one of the world's greatest anti-human operatives."

"I… don't like hurting people." Velvet answered, giving Naruto a conflicted look. He'd basically got her dead-to-rights, and all while using only his left fist and one finger from his right. There it was, the 'difference' between a second year and a fourth year.

Naruto sighed and sat on the ground, motioning for Velvet to do the same. "Let me let you in on a little secret. I didn't either originally."

She looked up, startled by that. Hunters were somewhat frowned upon in the Huntsman community, often considered a sadly necessary evil. Most civilians were kept in the dark about it as much as possible. "Then why did you?"

Naruto looked contemplative at that, eventually nodding to himself and taking out a picture from his wallet. Smiling fondly at her he passed over the down at it she could tell it was an often held photo, clear lines of wear and tear visible on it. _It's a picture of his family_.

On a level she definitely understood. She was the same way with Team CVFY… _well almost, I haven't killed for them… yet._ Handing the picture, she told him so, "Yeah, I get that. Ruby already has a bit of a reputation…" She coughed into her hand and blushed, "Yang, too."

Naruto snorted and took the picture back, "Yeah, that's Yang for you. As for Ruby…" He trailed off staring at nothing, "Ruby is too good for the world. She's an ideal manifest some would say." His shoulders' hunched, " She believes in the good of all people." Looking right into Velvet's eyes he said, "And I think we are both fairly aware that isn't quite true."

She was only confused for a moment, "Those whiskers… they aren't tattoos or scars are they?"

He gave her a wide grin; thumb pointed at his face, "Nope! You are looking at a 100% gen-u-ine article right here!"

She couldn't help but giggle at that.

"So, that's why I did it. I don't want Ruby to ever really see how low Humans and Faunus sink. If that meant staining my hands to keep hers clean… It was a sacrifice I happily made."

That struck something in Velvet, she only ever wanted to help… Naruto stared at his hands lost in thought, she did too. "Staining my hands so the ones I care about don't have to." _But it's not like any of us are all that innocent._

"I know what you're probably thinking right now: 'It's not like my team is innocent,' right?"

She looked up, shocked again. "H-how?"

Naruto chuckled, "Because it's a fairly obvious line of thought? I'm not claiming Ruby or anyone else is 'Innocent' either, she's sixteen and has access to the Rem-net after all. But can you really say someone like Coco would be the same if they told her to go take out a bandit camp? Permanently?"

Velvet didn't have a reply, he wasn't wrong. Coco was a strong-willed team leader but…

Naruto continued, "Fox… I don't see him doing it. Yatsuhashi, maybe… but he is far more effective against Grimm hordes. Coco… she wouldn't come out the same and besides I'd want her against the Grimm regardless with the overcompensating gun of hers."

Velvet snorted at that, the looks on peoples faces when Coco whipped that out was always amusing.

"And then there is you. Your semblance does a lot more than just copy the fighting styles. It copies the mindset needed for the style too doesn't it?"

She sucked in a breath, eyes wide.

"That's why Coco doesn't like you fighting with it."

 _How…?_ "Y-yes, there is… side-effects to using one style for too long. The longer I use a copied style, the better adapted for my body it becomes but…"

Naruto nodded in understanding, "But the rest of the 'package' becomes more ingrained in you as well."

Velvet nodded sadly, she wasn't quiet by choice. Not really. It just took so much energy to stay _Velvet Scarlatina_. Coco was always good about reminding her through.

"I'm sorry for asking this of you, but we need more Hunters. There is something big coming and it's not going to be Grimm that are the main threat." Worry crept into his eyes, "I need to get the most out of the time I have, and that means picking out the students who have particularly strong anti-human semblances and training them as best I can."

"So please Velvet, I ask you. Stain your hands. For your team, for Beacon, for Vale, For Remnant...For a Better Future…"

She almost couldn't hide the pity she had for him. Here was someone so much stronger than her, who sacrificed so much, despising himself for asking her to do the same.

Before she could voice her thoughts to him however he had one last thing to say. "I'll burn for my sins no doubt, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hadn't done everything in my power and someone ended up hurt or killed because of it."

She… she couldn't back out now. The training she would have taken, but when he started talking about _killing_ people… she would put up with a disappointed Coco. But now he shared his fear with her, and if she backed out now… and if Coco or anyone else got hurt because she had refused…

 _This is how people end up as Hunters isn't it._

"A-alright Naruto." Those two words brought so much visible relief to his face. "I'll do it. Coco knows right?" He nodded.

He breathed out a breath he apparently didn't know he had been holding. "Thank you, Velvet. Come on down in two days after 2100 hours. You should head back to Coco now, got another student coming in." He gave her a wan smile.

She nodded and made her way out.

It wasn't what she had been expecting, but if it helped keep her adopted family safe… Well, the extra training could only help her.

* * *

"Are you really sure this is a good idea, Nora?"

Jasmine watched from the tree she was hiding in as Jaune's team decided - in their infinite wisdom - to wander deep into the heart of the forest. Apparently, the Nora girl wanted to find a big tree they could use to fill up all their jars in one fell swoop. It was a smart idea, but an idea that was conceived at the wrong time.

Forever fall forest was a relatively safe area, considering it was nestled between a mountain and a well-defended railroad track. Grimm populations were thinned out thrice every year. She knew this because she'd personally been on one of these 'quellings.' Generally, this time of the year came between a little after a quelling, so the forest was quiet.

Not this time, though.

She'd been called in for a sanctioned mission because they couldn't cancel the field class for the first years. Glynda accompanied them, sure, but considering there was an abnormal rise in the number of Grimm showing up in Forever Fall, Ozpin thought it best to send additional protection. Naruto's words plagued her thoughts, and she had to agree. _Ozpin is worried about something._

 _The students are smart enough to stay safe. Your presence is a mere formality, Jasmine. Think of it as a day off and another mission added to your ledger_. Ozpin had told her. She knew Ozpin only saw the best in his students because she knew from the moment they landed that at least one team would try to do something stupid.

Lo and behold, there was now a team in the forest depths. Had she not already been keeping an eye on Jaune, they'd be too far out for her to protect.

She was brought out of reverie by the sound of an explosive going off. She would have fallen right out of the tree had she not gotten lessons in tree-centric espionage from Naruto. Once she regained her position, she had to actively fight the urge to facepalm.

"Nora! You destroyed my sword!" Jaune yelled, holding the hilt of what was once his weapon. It took Jasmine a second to put two and two together. The team was covered in red sap, Nora's ballistic hammer was smoking, and the tree they were standing in front of was now leaning against other trees behind it.

It was the only way it could stay standing when it was missing a large chunk of its trunk.

She'd chastise the kids, but being ready for any combat scenarios was part of their training. It was part of why they were brought out to the field, to begin with. Her orders were to stay out of sight unless it was a matter of life or death. The Grimm started to flock to the team, brought in by the combination of the explosive noise and the sweet smell of the sap.

 _Probably Jaune's panic, too._

She jumped to a lower branch and then to the next tree. She prepared to drop down the moment the kids were in mortal peril. She wouldn't let these kids die on her watch. Naruto would never forgive her. _I wouldn't forgive myself._

For now, though, she'd observe.

Pyrrha Nikos was an artist these days. The way she moved between the surrounding Beowolves, her spear splitting open any that dared pounce. It was like watching a dance of death, beautiful and terrifying in equal measure.

Lie Ren was much the same. Dodging and ducking his way around an Ursa Major. He didn't possess the raw strength of Pyrrha, so he made up for it with incredible speed, skill, and spatial awareness. His weapon in its comfort zone here, where he could use it to pepper every swing of his opponent with gunfire.

Nora… was different. Her style could be easily summed up with the word 'Brutality.' She was a flurry of activity, bashing a beowolf into the ground and quickly launching a grenade into a lunging King Taijitu's open mouth.

And there _he_ was, cowering behind his shield against a single Beowolf. Pathetic, weaponless, alone.

But if he were honest with himself, even with a sword he would be a little better than useless at best or liability at worst.

He rarely trained on his own. He did just enough to scrape by on his grades. At the time it didn't seem relevant. He had time, a whole four years, so what if he spent more time reading comics and playing games?

And now here he is, dragging his team down. Surrounded by what seems to be an endless flood of Grimm.

An explosion of pink fire indicated Nora started dipping into her more custom - and destructive - grenades… which was not a good sign.

Nor was it when Ren collided with him, having been battered by an unusually large Ursa Major. Pyrrha and Nora, bless their souls, noticed and had fallen back to a tighter formation. While it had given time for Ren and him to recover, it also let the Grimm box them in further.

 _And I'm still standing here doing nothing!_

 _I'm the Team Leader! I need to help!_

 _I need to help them!_

And then Pyrrha got blindsided in the side of her head by that same Heavily Armored Ursa Major, knocking her off balance. Jaune saw her lose her concentration, watched her Aura flicker.

It was at that moment that something clicked.

He didn't know what it was, but he knew that it would help. He raised his arm without knowing what to expect, and he felt his own aura ebb. In front of him, Pyrrha started to glow. Her spear shot out with speed and strength that would baffle even the strongest of huntsmen. The tip went through the Ursa's bone-armor with such speed that it looked like it had somehow _bypassed_ the armor entirely.

There was only one way to explain it, Jaune had found his semblance.

"Alright kiddos, time to clean up here," Jasmine shouted as she literally jumped out of a tree, and on to a Beowolf. Somehow, her light frame was enough to completely eviscerate the Grimm's armored head and leave a small crater in the earth.

"Jaune, empower me." She spoke, and Jaune followed, mimicking the same actions he'd used to empower Pyrrha. Jasmine began to glow, and a wicked smile appeared on her face.

"What a thrill!" She yelled as he slammed her foot into the ground _hard_. The area around her foot exploded with force, sending debris rocketing upwards. With the skill and deftness expected from a pro hunter, she lashed out at the rubble with a rapid flurry of kicks and punches, launching chunks of rocks and earth at the Grimm around her at the speed of bullets.

Unlike normal bullets, this debris ripped through the armored Grimm. It was physically impossible, but it still happened. Within a matter of seconds, the crowded clearing was now almost empty as the smaller Grimm started to retreat - Jasmine having shredded their alphas.

"That's one hell of a semblance, Jaune. Might have to request you for some of my missions." Jasmine smiled. "For now, though, I'd recommend you get back to the ship. Leave your jars at the entrance, let Glynda know that I personally sent you back."

As she passed Jaune, she leaned in close. "As for you, young man, we'll be having a little _talk_ on the way back to Beacon."

As they walked away, Jaune tried his best to come to terms with what just happened. He had always expected to have the semblance of a warrior. This was anything but that. Still, it was powerful. Overwhelmingly so, as a matter of fact. Just… not for him.

For once, as they walked back to the airship, Jaune noticed that it was his team following him, not the other way around. Deep inside, he liked this feeling.

He really did.

* * *

"So, let's get this straight. You can directly inject your Aura into someone else's?" Jasmine asked, and Jaune nodded.

"And your Aura's potency allows the recipient to go beyond their physical capabilities." another question, another nod.

"Do you realize how powerful an ability like that is?" Jasmine asked. Support Semblances were rare, to begin with, and so were semblances that directly affected Aura. A Semblance that could do both was beyond extraordinary.

Yet, Jaune's noncommittal shrug told her that he was not a happy camper.

"So, mind telling me why you're unhappy with a semblance like that?" Jasmine asked, even though she already knew the answer. Again, she was surprised by the similarities between herself and Jaune.

The black sheep of prestigious families.

"Well, it's just that I was expecting my semblance to be a little more useful to myself… you know?" Jaune spoke, causing Jasmine to giggle. Confused, he stared at her till she stopped.

"Sorry about that, Jaune. I just realized that you're in the same sort of situation I was in three years back." She answered. Jaune huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Totally. You're trying to tell me that you were like _me_ three years ago? Try harder, Vytal champ." He countered, his petulance made Jasmine laugh harder, much to his confusion.

"I'm not lying, Jaune." She spoke as her laughter subsided. "My own semblance is making things heavier or lighter. It's what I used when I fought those Grimm." She leaned back in her seat.

"It's not as offensive an ability as you'd expect it to be, neither is it easy to control. Back when I joined Beacon, I couldn't control it enough to use it on myself, so I used to on my teammates." She spoke. "Mind you, all I can increase is weight, unlike you."

"I don't understand where you're going with this, Jasmine," Jaune grumbled. Jasmine just shook her head.

"Using my ability to boost Naruto's strength and speed was what helped us qualify for the Vytal festival, you know?" She spoke. "It's why Naruto's the poster-boy of our team. Ozpin just threw the three of us in with him because he knew that Naruto's maniacal pursuit of strength would bring out the best in the three of us."

"In short, Ozpin and Naruto taught me that as a team leader, you don't have to be the center of the team. A leader who supports is often more valuable than a leader who charges into battle without a second thought." She finished, driving the point home.

Jaune stayed silent in contemplation, so Jasmine continued. "Of course, just because you are good at support doesn't mean you can't be good at combat too! Hell, I took out a couple of people back in the day. Just because I can't beat Naruto doesn't mean I can't at least try."

Jaune nodded. The boy was trying to absorb it all. He finally came to an answer when he gave Jasmine a cheery smile.

"Thanks for that, Jasmine. Guess I can understand what my sisters saw in you." He answered. "I'll become the perfect support!" he finished, pumping his fist into the air.

"That's good to hear, Jaune." Jasmine finished. She debated whether or not she should tell Jaune that the only reason she ended up with his sisters was because Naruto was too dense to pick up on their advances on him. After much mental debate, she decided against it.

It was Jaune's day, might as well let him have it.

* * *

FREEDOM!... was what the sign Neo was holding above her head said.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at her antics. "Yes, yes Neo. That is what I'm going to try and convince Ozpin of today." She made sure to make her eyes extra hopeful-looking and got another smile in response.

At first, she had been disgruntled, but accepting of her imprisonment. She knew Naruto was fully capable and willing, to end her life the second she stepped out of his line. One might ask 'how' she knew such… Well, the answer would be quite simple. No matter how well he hid it, occasionally it slipped out. That look of his.

It takes one to know one, as the proverb goes. It was one Neo certainly agreed with.

She sorta bonded with the monster as the weeks had passed. Both out of a need for social interaction and self-preservation, after all, he held the key to her freedom… and the path to paying off her debt to Roman.

The supplies he brought every few days certainly helped. It didn't hurt that her cell was less a cell and more an improvised dorm room.

After she had accepted that it was her life now, and if she wanted to keep having one some things would need to change. And as time passed, things did.

They became more friendly to each other. They were able to air grievances about people they had otherwise needed to bottle up. Their camaraderie had ended up with them sharing secrets they normally wouldn't tell.

No, they didn't spill life stories to each other with some heartfelt moment where they realized their friendship for each other… No, they both knew that if it benefited them, they would kill the other. Fortunately, for Neo's sake, she held value to him.

Eventually, she felt sturdy enough in her position to ask for Naruto's help. And he gave it.

But, it had taken time. Time they really didn't have. The ship was coming soon, and this would be likely their only chance.

"Say, Neo," She looked up at him, "You ever notice how elevators take exactly as long as needed to have a conversation? When it's not an awkward one at least." She gave him a flat look, that is utter bullsh- _Ding_.

Naruto gave her a smug look. She gave him a thoroughly unamused one.

Ozpin looked up in surprise, having not expected anyone. "Oh? Hello Naruto… and… " He trailed off and furrowed his brow.

She smiled and held up a sign, 'Hi! I'm Neo!'

Ozpin smiled and nodded at that, "Alright, hello Neo." He turned his head to Naruto, "And what can I do for you and Neo today, Naruto?"

They grinned at each other. This was going to be easier than they thought.

Naruto began, "So you see Old Man, I was lamenting to Neo how there weren't enough quality Huntsmen available that I could square off against…to show the class different concepts and whatnot."

Ozpin hummed, "And how does young Miss Neo factor into this?"

Neo took that as her cue and proceed to show off her acrobatics and skill with a rapier against imaginary opponents as she bounced on her toes, showing off some pinpoint-perfect thrusts. A pirouette led into another flurry of thrusts as she maneuvered against another imaginary opponent. It was clear to see that she was as good as any mid-tier huntsman, and her past showed that she had the experience to back up her skills.

She finished it all with a bow, Naruto picked up from there. "She's from Vacuo. Only made it two years before she dropped out and self-taught from there. Also, she's pretty good at drawing as has quite a few stories to tell."

Ozpin sipped his coffee and nodded. "I can't offer her any sort of permanent position, Glynda will have my head, but I can certainly direct some of the budget towards a low-tier, no offense, Guest Lecturer. Does she already have lodgings?"

The two shared a look and laughed, well, Naruto laughed, and she mimed laughing. "Yeah, something like that, but not for much longer."

Ozpin raised a brow, "Oh?"

Naruto nodded, "Landlord is a creepy old coot and is kicking her out. Found out she was Vacuian, apparently has something against them."

Ozpin frowned at that, "I see, that is unfortunate. Sadly, I can't offer her lodgings here, but she is welcome to stay with you if that's alright with her."

Neo nodded. Happily, she really wanted to see the sun again.

"Alright then, welcome to Beacon, Miss Neo. I hope you enjoy your stay here." The two high-fived at that as Ozpin chuckled.

"Thanks, Old Man! See yah!" Naruto and Neo waved goodbye and turned back towards the elevator.

Ozpin raised his cup of coffee to them and with a look of great reluctance, got back to work.

She looked at Naruto, and he looked at her. He said what was on both their minds. "That was easier than I thought."

Neo nodded, bouncing from heel to toe. She was finally out, finally free, and soon her debts would be paid back to everyone but Naruto.

But now?

She looked at Naruto again, who had been watching her in amusement. They shared another, more… malicious… grin.

 _Time to mess with people._

And with a blur, the amount of Neos in the elevator doubled.

* * *

"I knew I'd find you here."

Naruto finished his stretch and got back up, sparing a glance at Jasmine as he did so. He bounced on his feet, rebalancing himself. "Well, Jaz, you know me. A healthy mind resides in a healthy body, and I have the healthiest body, period."

"Still waiting on that healthy mind, I see." She spoke. Naruto noticed that she was carrying her weapon. A cinder block with a steel pole sticking through it was hard to miss either way. It was her choice of weapon, and Naruto knew how stupidly effective it could be, in conjunction with her semblance.

Jasmine still found it better than that sword her parents had gotten her when she qualified for Beacon. Contrary to popular belief, not every weapon needed an attached gun to be effective, especially with her semblance.

She remembered when she'd sparred against Naruto in the first year. The prestigious child of a poplar huntsman family against a relatively unknown prankster. Safe to say, he'd shat on her. Hell, over three years of semi-regular spars, the fact that she couldn't beat him had been cemented in her mind.

He was a prodigy of hard work, and he was damn proud of it.

"You know it." He answered, retrieving his own weapons from the side. "So, what brings you here? Damn sure you didn't show up to talk." He answered, launching a few lightning-fast punches, even with those heavy gauntlets of his.

"You could always see right through me, couldn't you?" Jasmine answered, moving into a combat pose. "I'm here to see just how much you've slacked off without the three of us around."

That was only partly the reason, of course. She hadn't seen Naruto for the better part of a year. He'd been her yardstick of measurement when it came to combat. He was motivation for all three of his teammates.

If they hadn't decided one random morning to follow him on his training routine, they would have never come as far as they had. They'd also miss out on the body pain and abundance of bruises, but that was a fair trade for strength and skill.

"Well, I hope you're ready to be disappointed, Jaz," Naruto spoke as he lowered his stance. This was the style of combat he was most used to, fast, smooth, and lacking any openings. It was the fighting style he fell back on if his trademark technique failed in its purpose of 'shock and awe.'

The fact that she could force him to start off with it just proved how far she'd come from the cocky yet powerless girl she was only a few years ago. He moved in for a strike but was forced to dodge as Jasmine swung her now weightless hammer, moving faster than he could with his weapons.

It had taken his help and years of practice to master using her Semblance unconsciously. If not for him, she'd still be looking for practical ways to use her Semblance.

As their dance of dodges and whiffs continued, and Jasmine's thoughts drifted back to the Vytal tournament. They'd been training for less than a year at that point, and according to the teachers, they had no chance. Naruto told them they'd win, and they made a bet. They told Naruto that they'd do something 'good' for him if they won.

And they did. More so, Naruto did, absolutely styling all over the tournament favorites. So they did exactly as they promised. They bought the candles, set up the room, and when Naruto returned from the champions after-party, he found three women ready and waiting to be taken.

He opened the door, took one look at them, blushed, apologized, and fucking _ran_. In hindsight, they really should have seen that coming.

They learned two things that day. One, Naruto was utterly dense, and two, incredibly precious. _He must be protected from females that only wanted him for his roguish charm and good looks. She dedicated two years of sexual conquest to make sure Naruto was never approached by anyone they disapproved of. No one could have him until he noticed her.  
_

Which led to the second thing they learned. The rumor of Team ORJ of Beacon was born.

With her mind so distracted by nostalgia it eventually happened, Jasmine slipped up, and Naruto got past her guard. He was gentle enough to only punch her jaw with the power of a dying sun, knocking her flying. Her Aura instantly dropped low enough to render her unconscious, but she got her fight. She got to reminisce, to see the first man she loved in his element.

It was a feeling she'd trade a few bruises for.

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **OMAKE: I forgot about that**

The terrible duo made their way to Naruto room.

After talking with Ozpin Neo had been bouncing to see it.

The entire walk there, Naruto had been giving her a rundown of where everything is and anything else she needed to know. As well as where exactly they would keep any of her things.

He unlocked the door, and before Naruto could say another word, she rushed in.

And was promptly blown back through the door smoking and soot-covered.

The shake and rumble clued him into what happened.

He totally forgot about that explosive seal floating above the coffee table.


	5. Judge, Jury, Execution END

**Sneaky A/N: So I'll say it here again. This story is driven by Unreliable Narration. Do not take what the characters say as gospel as everything is displayed through the frame of what they know.**

 **That said, I'm a fairly trash author and my writing skills are comparable of that to a monkey bashing on a keyboard. CruelRuin is not that much better TBH. (CR A/N: Agreed.)**

 **To anyone concerned with the OCs, they are a required part of the meta of Remnant and making Naruto a student of beacon without a team felt cringe AF. But don't worry, they aren't permanent fixtures for this story. In fact, they will be barely fixtures for the story.**

 **I recently got some messages about how fast this is going. At the time of this posting, this season one arc of RWBY fanfic will be** _ **twice**_ **the length of RWBY season 1. I realize many people are used to some stories taking up to three times as long(as mine) to get to the end of season 1, but I actually want to finish my story.**

 **To finish off this long ass A/N, I encourage everyone to re-read the sections they complained about. There was a fair number of reviews/PMs that complained about things that were answered in the chapter they were complaining about.**

 **CR A/N: Yeah, this shit's kinda my problem with Y'all, but hey, I stopped caring a while back.**

* * *

 **Judge, Jury, Execution Arc: Finale**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Saving Private Torchwick with halp from a Certain Scientific Railgun**

* * *

Neo didn't know what to make of the room Naruto had led her into. It was a room that had been turned into practically a set piece for a crime drama. Where that one character had the room with a corkboard and snippets of paper plastered everywhere. The mahogany desk covered in files with several metal filing cabinets in the corner was a nice finishing touch. She looked questioningly at him.

He grinned and swept his hand across the room, "The best way to hide was with audacity. I needed a place to put this stuff, so I thought why not make it just seem like a set piece?"

She nodded, _That's fair enough_. _Roman had a similar modus operandi after all_. She looked at him again.

He continued, "Right, I really just needed a good place that we wouldn't have eavesdroppers or suddenly appearing protagonists offering to help me." That earned him a look of askance. "Look, it is depressingly common for early Huntsmen to think they are going to be the ones to save the day and change the world. I'm not quite sure why they do, 'cause if that were a thing it would have happened already but…" He shook his head, "We are getting off-topic."

She gave him a flat look which he had the self-awareness to be mildly embarrassed at. _It's not like I can contribute to the conversation here. Well, I supposed I could. But, Nyeh._

Though she did appreciate Naruto being a quick study of her nonverbal communication. Unlike Roman who would basically just invent her saying or thinking whatever he expected from her... And his talking, his constant talking. While it never really irritated her at the moment, now that she had been separated from the man she never realized how sweet the silence was.

That was another beautiful thing about Naruto, sometimes he would just come visit her and sit there, letting them both enjoy the silence.

Right, she was getting off-track herself. She refocused on Naruto only to jump back in surprise as not more than a few inches from her face was...herself. The chocolate and pink eyes reflected only amusement as rational thought reasserted itself. She leveled a glare at him...herself? Her brain was going in loops trying to figure out how to refer to someone, who could change their body with some concentration, whom currently looked like her.

The glare reasserted itself on her victim, whose only response was to look the picture of innocence, precisely the same way she did.

Maybe Naruto was getting _too_ good at understanding her nonverbal communication.

With a snicker, a blur, and light smoke, Naruto turned back to normal. "Right, so my point being, I need your help picking through all this information to see what's actually useful and can be corkboarded and what gets put aside."

Again she had to look at him questioningly.

He answered the unasked question. "They aren't all news clippings, most of these are reports I've received from various people about supplies, arms, armor, troop movement, etc. Despite how subtle someone is, people will forever be the largest security flaw."

Neo nodded, this made sense. It reminded her of one of the rants Roman would occasionally go on about how useless people were and the fewer people involved in something, the easier it was. If the numbers Cinder was asking for and implying were anything to go by, enough people would have noticed.

Naruto hummed as he took some pages down and tacked some of them up. "So, when you mentioned that last you checked you had something around twenty plus cargo containers full of Dust...are we talking RSSS packing or 'who the fuck cares' level of packing?"

She gave him a flat stare. _Like I would know what the Remnant Shipping Safety Standards are?_

He seemed to realize a moment later what he asked and to whom. "Right, I'll just assume you guys packed them pretty full." She nodded, Roman, didn't care much what happened to the Dust after they stole it.

Naruto frowned and looked genuinely worried, "That isn't good. That would put the operation at about around four hundred tons of Dust."

Neo's eyes widened, and the color drained from her face. _I know we stole a lot but was it really that much?_

Naruto ran his hand through his hair, "Even if that's the highball, even a hundred or two is…"

She nodded, that would be enough to...enough to… They shared a look of unease. Even if Neo wasn't overly concerned what happened to Vale, Cinder went from psycho-bitch with fire to psycho-bitch who might be about to commit genocide.

Naruto looked at his file-covered desk, "Looks like we have our work cut out for us. Let's get to it."

She groaned but moved towards the corkboard anyway. _Why does being the good guys require so much work?_

* * *

"I _so_ hate you guys right now."

Naruto stepped forward, back straight. His eyes were on the prize. His arm swung back, but his back didn't budge. With a downward swing, the arm shot forward. The ball he held sailed forth, hitting the smooth hardwood floor and rolling forth. The ball struck true, taking down the ten pins laid out in front of it.

Say whatever she would, Ruby had to agree that Naruto was the best bowler she'd ever met.

"Don't be that way, Rubes, why don't you try using a lighter ball?" Naruto gave her a little smile, taking a seat next to a grumbling Yang.

Ruby gave Naruto a scathing glare… or as close to one as she could manage and, in the opinion of her older siblings, often made her look like an angry puppy. "I can't throw them fast enough to get a strike! This no-aura rule this place enforces is so stupid!"

It would strike the average civilian as shocking to see a huntress-in-training unable to sling a bowling ball. That same civilian would also have next-to-no idea about the differences that aura brought about to one's strength.

"Well, this is a civilian bowling alley, Rubes," Naruto spoke, crossing his arms behind his head. "I'm pretty sure they don't want aura-empowered huntsmen to sling around heavy balls."

"Heh, as if that's ever stopped you," Yang spoke from the side, confusing Ruby. Naruto caught on to this and gave Yang a stern look.

"Not in front of Rubes, Yang." He admonished. Yang shrugged before changing the subject, glancing at the scoreboard.

"So, other than proving to us that you haven't lost your bowling skills over the last four years, why did you suddenly decide to bring us out?" Yang asked the question that was also on Ruby's mind.

Naruto sighed, "I realized that we haven't done anything together in almost four years now." His expression softened, "We used to go bowling with dad every second weekend. Thought I'd take you two out for a change, maybe catch up while we're at it."

Yang gave Naruto a predatory smile. "Oh? Taking not one but _two_ pretty girls to the mall all by your lonesome? Why I'm pretty sure dad would like a word with you."

Naruto laughed. "Well, he can challenge me any day, I'm still gonna try to treat them like princesses."

Yang grinned as she slipped her phone into her pocket. "I took the liberty of sending a recording of that to the old man. Pretty sure he's gonna want to have words with you."

Naruto shrugged. "Well then, we'll solve our dispute the same way we always have," He cast his gaze over the bowling alley. "Like real men, with phallic pins and heavy balls."

"I don't know what's worse, that joke or dad's bowling skills." Yang countered, grinning. Ruby, meanwhile, was focussing on the size 5 ball in her hands.

"Well, he might be bad, but Rubes here is our family's lowest scorer." Naruto grinned. "I mean, there's a reason she was always my teammate when we played duos."

Ruby huffed her cheeks. "Excuse me? If I had Crescent Rose right now, I'd cut those pins down in _one_ swipe!"

Yang raised an eyebrow, her smirk refusing to disappear. "Hate to break it to ya Sis, but that sounds a lot less impressive than you think."

Incensed by Yang's comment, Ruby put down her ball. Instead of heading over to teach her dearest siblings a lesson, her hand went for the most massive ball available - a size eleven. As she hefted it off the machine, she was forced to use her other hand just to heft it up.

"Easy there, Rubes. While I wouldn't mind carrying you back to Beacon, I would _definitely_ mind explaining to your teachers exactly how you broke your back." Naruto joked, getting comfortable in his seat. Beside him, Yang bit her fist as she couldn't stop her laughter.

"I'll show the two of them!" Ruby grumbled under her breath as she struggled to take her position in front of the lane. Sure, the bowling alley had restrictions on aura usage, but they hadn't said anything about Semblances. Her plan was simple. Drop the ball, use her semblance to take a step forward, and let gravity yank the ball out of her fingers.

Get a straight line, and the resultant strike would shut up the haters.

With a mad cackle, she pulled the ball as high as her arm would allow. As she let it go, she took a single step at her full speed. Her arm was yanked back so hard that her shoulder was almost popped out of its socket. At that point, she realized two things.

One, the ball was stuck to her fingers, probably got stuck when she was trying to initially heft it up. Two, she was currently being dragged by said ball.

Her body was dragged over the smooth hardwood. However, the ball struck true, and all pins were downed. It impacted with the back of the lane and stopped, pulling Ruby into the little dark alcove.

"Ya know Bro. Usually, you are the one getting the clean sweep." Yang joked.

Naruto shook his head. "I mean, her leg passed the alley's starting line. You can't count that. The ball was also clearly not following regulations."

They shared amusement at their younger siblings expense. Naruto then realized that his beloved sister was being manhandled by the machine that reset the bowling pins.

The two turned to see Ruby flailing about trying to get her clothing unjammed, and failing.

"... we really should get her out of there though." He concluded, and Yang nodded in agreement.

As Yang moved to help Ruby, Naruto looked over to the manager who was now stomping in their direction, scowling. _Welp looks like this is going to be another place we're getting banned from._

With the sounds of stressed metal in the background as Yang gave up any pretenses with Ruby's increasingly frantic panicking, Naruto could only offer the man a sheepish smile.

* * *

"You know, Rubes. It really isn't like you to be so quiet in a weapons shop."

Ruby puffed up her cheeks and turned her face away from Naruto. The man himself chuckled. "Are you still angry that I made my new weapons without consulting you first?"

Ruby growled and turned back to poke him in the chest. "Yes! I mean, partly yes. Still, you made yourself something _so cool_!"

Naruto grinned, "Well, I didn't really make it myself." He said with a shrug, "Plus, don't be angry! I still use that rifle you gave me whenever I need to!"

Ruby crossed her arms over her chest. "Well yeah, I mean, it isn't like these gauntlets give you many ranged options. I think Yang's are totally cooler."

Naruto laughed again and pat her on the head, "An unbiased opinion, I'm sure, considering you _definitely_ had no part in designing her weapons."

Ruby's eyes widened, "Wait, you know about that?"

Naruto grunted and leaned his back against the counter, "Ruby, I love Yang and all, but she's got the patience and physics-based knowledge of a fifth grader." He then thumbed to himself. "Just like me, except I'm cooler, which is why I get along just as well with you."

Ruby giggled, "Totally." He was right, though. Naruto was a kind of middle-ground between her and Yang. Hot-headed enough to make Yang feel at home and understanding and patient enough to make Ruby feel comfortable.

To this day, she didn't know whether he'd become like this for them, or whether he'd always been this way. _I was so little when he showed up, I can't remember him being anything but the awesome and cool older brother._

"Yang sure is taking her time, isn't she?" Naruto asked, eyeing some dust rounds. Ruby followed his gaze to the prices listed on the ammunition boxes. It was twice the standard rate and then some. It sucked because it meant unless she mixed her own rounds, which she was _awful_ at, she wasn't able to practice anywhere near as often as she would like. Still, if Naruto would say nothing about it, she wouldn't either. Even if he did likely know why. She never had enough time with him these days and asking him about what he did was a quick way to end conversations with him.

"She's doing one of the three things she likes doing most, she'll take time," Ruby spoke, wondering if she could add a throwing knife launcher to Crescent Rose.

"Well, I don't mind. Gives me more time to spend with my younger sister." Naruto smiled, "So, how's your team holding up? Yang give you much trouble?"

Ruby shook her head and smiled fondly. "After her early outburst, Weiss has been behaving. She asks a lot of questions about you, though."

Naruto's eyebrow rose, "Questions? What kind?"

"Well, you said you know her sister, she wants to know how," Ruby stated. Naruto chuckled and retrieved his scroll, passing it to Ruby. On the scroll was a photo of the top eight teams from the last Vytal festival. She could make out Naruto, Jasmine, two girls who had Jaune's emblem on their t-shirts, and a girl who looked like a carbon-copy of Weiss, but taller. The scowl on her face was what confirmed her relationship to Weiss.

"We all had one hell of a time at the Vytal festival after-party. She might be scowling for the camera, but she was all smiles all day long, as hard as that may be to believe." Naruto finished, replacing his scroll.

"Well, I'll tell her that when she asks again. She isn't as mean anymore." Ruby sighed. "You know Yang… she's Yang. It's Blake that worries me."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Blake? What did she do?"

Ruby shook her head. "It's what she _isn't_ doing." She sighed, "It's just that she doesn't trust anyone on the team. She always sits a few seats away from us, doesn't ever start a conversation, doesn't come to the room except to sleep, all that." Ruby waved a limp wrist around, the whole situation was really getting to her, she was supposed to be the team leader, after all.

Naruto was silent in thought for a moment. "Well, maybe she just needs time, you know? I wasn't very talkative either when you guys first found me."

Ruby harrumphed, "Maybe, but at least you _didn't know our language_!"

Naruto shrugged. "Semantics, Rubes." He leaned against a wall and sighed. "Blake's… different. I can't tell you why or how, but I'll have to ask you to give her some time."

Ruby narrowed her gaze. "And how do you know all this, Naruto?"

Naruto chuckled. "You keep forgetting that I'm a Professor, Rubes." He sniffed, "I know stuff, it's part of my job."

Ruby was silent for a while. "Yeah… you're a teacher. A teacher who started teaching the _very_ same year I joined Beacon. Joined Beacon, early." She knew that Naruto would get what she was insinuating. Her entire life, she'd lived under the protection of her family. She was the youngest, and they were overprotective. She loved them to death, but she also wanted to live a normal school life… for once.

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking, Rubes," Naruto grumbled. "You also know that I trust in your abilities, and Yang's too. I've been trying my best to keep my distance, and you know that."

Ruby drooped and sighed, "Yes, I know. Still, I've always had dad and uncle Qrow back in Signal. Now, I have you. I don't want to be the same 'teacher's pet' I was back then."

"You want to be normal, I getcha. Sorry." Naruto wasn't even looking at her right now. His eyes had apparently caught something outside the shop. He pats her on her shoulder. "Look, Ruby, you and Yang go ahead, I'll catch up with you at Beacon." With that, he was out of the shop, leaving a confused Ruby behind.

 _Big Brother...I hope he didn't take it the wrong way_. She lamented, before going back to all the lovely weapons and boxes of ammo that deserved her attention, with the credit card Naruto had slipped into her hood of course.

* * *

 _Stand approximately 10.3 meters from store window at an angle of 43° degrees._ She did so.

 _Hold position until spotted by the target in peripheral vision._ She did so, the subtle shift of the target indicated she was successful.

 _Heel turn towards the alley, proceed at a speed of 0.9 m/s._

 _Stop._ She did so. _Turn head so left optic observes store exit._ _Wait for the target._ She didn't have to wait long as 1.3 milliseconds later the target left the store and spotted her again.

 _Turn head back and proceed into the alleyway at a speed of 0.5 m/s._ She did so, and eventually without prompting she turned around and waited for her objective to enter the alley and engage in dialogue with her person.

With a flick of a mental switch, she deactivated her Active Tactical Subroutines. _Sensational! The ATS seems to be within bounds of adequate operation parameters outside of combat. Further testing will be required, but I'm sure General Ironwood and Father will be pleased to hear the live trial is going exquisitely._

It didn't take long, by her estimate only 12.3 seconds, for her target to enter the alleyway and approach her. Her database on human psychology recommended she deescalate the tension she had caused by opening up a dialogue with humor.

"Sal-u-tations, fellow humanoid!" She performed an over exaggerated wave, "Please refrain from placing your hands on me, as I am told that we are required to enact a human social mating ritual before such an event." Her target stopped and let his guard down. _Sensational! My attempts at levity were a success!_

He frowned, "I'm not exactly sure how I'm supposed to respond to that."

"Not to worry, my successful execution of levity has broken the ice of our dialogue and allows me to continue our vocal intercourse to the more important objectives." Her books also placed massive importance on reassuring the other party that any blame would not fall on them to ensure a successful conclusion of dialogue.

He raised a finger and opened his mouth, halted, then dropped his hand. "Look you have my attention, what do you want?"

"Before we proceed I must obtain confirmation. Are you Operative Shadow?" It was important I confirmed his identity first. It would be poor performance on my part if I broke operational security due to assumptions.

The target, however, did not react in a friendly manner. His back foot had subtly shifted by 8.1cm in the past 43 milliseconds. "Who's asking?" _Ah, of course. I had not included that confirmation code._ "Operative Cuzn. Callsign confirmation code: Delta Echo February Echo Charlie Tango.

The target snorted, obviously recognizing something. "Alright, yeah, I'm Shadow. What can I do for the General?"

"Excellent, please give me one moment while I contact the General." Her bit said, and to the immense confusion of Operative Shadow, she opened her mouth wide.

Before he could ask a question a ringing telephone, similar to that of an iScroll's, echoed from the speakers located in the back of her mouth.

With a click, her left eye flickered and glowed, projecting a holographic screen facing outward. On the display was the face of General Ironwood. "Penny, Have you-" he stopped, surprised to see Operative Shadow instead. "Oh, she found you. Good."

Shadow crossed his arms and raised his brow, "Really? Penny? Cuzn?"

Ironwood looked away and cleared his throat. "Well, you know how it is. I wanted to label it an innocuous name, so I went with Project Coinage." He sighed, "You know how engineering-oriented eggheads can get, they decided to take the name and run with it." Ironwood then rubbed his chin, "Though I am curious how you got that reference."

Shadow snorted and rolled his eyes, "One word. Oobleck."

Ironwood visibly cringed, "Ah."

Shadow continued, gesturing to her, "So she's…"

Ironwood nodded, "The accumulation of multiple years of research, tons of Dust, and billions of lien. The world's first operational full-autonomous weapons platform."

"Named 'Penny', with the looks of a fourteen-year-old girl."

Ironwood sighed, "Yes, named Penny. With the looks of a fourteen-year-old girl." He paused, then tried to offer an explanation, "The head scientist is...eccentric."

Shadow shrugged, "Neat. Is this where Oz got his Aura tech from?"

Ironwood nodded, "Quite, the project got a surprise budget increase around the same time the Headmaster contacted me about a solution to his problem."

Ironwood's face got suddenly more serious, and so did Shadow's. "The reason I sent her to Vale is to ensure the safety of a Dust shipment being provided by the SDC. They have, with help from the Atlas government, vastly under-reported how much Dust is on the cargo tanker. It's something the Vale Council requested, as the recent crime spree by Roman Torchwick has critically emptied Dust reserves for the city."

Shadow cut in, "And if the people realize how much Dust is actually missing we will have a panic on our hands, so everyone is hoping to, as subtly as possible, get the Dust distributed."

Ironwood nodded in respect, "Precisely. As much as I dislike these backroom dealings, it's benefiting us this time. Vale stays stable, Atlas gets some favors, and the SDC gets a PR boost."

Shadow hummed, "Hate to burst your bubble, but Roman already knows, and according to my source? He's got some serious backing. _Terrorist_ backing. That Dust isn't being sold, it's going to get _used_."

Ironwoods face drained, visible even over the holographic display, and even Penny grew worried by the numbers she was approximating. "Tha-that's several hundred _tons_ of Dust! We are shipping about that much alone over as well!"

Shadow grimaced and ran a hand through his hair, "Relax James, I'm well aware of that. I've turned several of his assets already. I really don't like what I hear about this whole thing. Can you send me the manifest and log? If I know when the ship is showing up, I can prep the battlefield."

Ironwood let out a sigh of relief, "Of course, Naruto, I should have assumed you were already on the case, you've always been reliable. Penny will have access to the files for the duration of the Op."

"Operative Cuzn," Penny straightened to attention, "You are hereby assigned under Operative Shadow's command until further notice. Treat any order you receive as if it was coming from me."

She saluted, "Understood General! Assigning Temp Administrator permissions to Operative Shadow."

Shadow gave the General a wry grin, "Don't worry James, you can count on me."

Ironwood nodded and looked away to something offscreen, "Of course, I'll be in contact. I have other things to take care of. Good luck."

The display winked out, and Penny's mouth clicked shut.

She turned to her new commanding officer, "Orders, sir?"

Operative Shadow hummed and rubbed his chin as he thought.

 _Truly fascinating! And to think I was going to slip my handlers and go off on an adventure! This should prove both exciting and simply educational!_ She held that position for several minutes as Operative Shadow deliberated on the new information and increase in combat capabilities.

Finally, he nodded at no one and refocused on her. "Alright, to start let's set some ground rules. First, refer to me as Naruto when I'm among friends, Professor Xiao Long during class, and Shadow only when we are alone… which is to be never assumed."

She nodded, "Acknowledged. Updating records... adding aliases… setting default designation… Done!"

Naruto nodded and leaned on his right shoulder against the wall of the alleyway. "Alright, what do you think is more time effective? Giving me a rundown of your full capabilities or compiling a report by the end of the night?"

She smiled, still saluting, "I believe it would be more effective for me to compile a report, sir. I'll be able to acquire temporary clearance for the reference documents and my blueprints."

Naruto hummed and nodded, "Alright, sounds good. How's your data management? You able to digitize physical documents, and store them on local-only storage?"

Penny beamed, "Ab-so-lutely! Do you have something for me to compile?"

"Yeah, it's been time-consuming trying to piece it all together one by one, you'll be a gods-send if you can take over on that."

She nodded, "Understood, I will assist to the best of my capabilities."

He motioned to her, "Last thing on the list for now, how good are you at generating a backstory? Can't imagine Jimmy would be too happy with others finding out…" He paused in thought, "well anything really..."

Penny hesitated, she didn't exactly have what Naruto was asking for but…"While I do not have any subroutine or program for the dedicated purpose of information fabrication, I can likely use several subroutines in conjunction with one another to provide a similar capability." She smiled again, "Not to worry though, General Ironwood foresaw this as a possibility and has already provided me with a generated backstory. I will send it to you now for perusal."

His scroll vibrated indicating she had done just that. He pushed himself off the wall, "Alright, drop the salute and fall in then. We're heading back to Beacon. I have someone to introduce to you, and you can relieve them and get started on the data compilation."

She dropped the salute as ordered and approached him, "Understood, sir."

* * *

"Okay so, what's the fracas?"

Weiss found it hard to explain to Naruto that while spying on the 'enemy', she'd somehow managed to make her own teammate into one. Well, not exactly, but those weren't crimes she was going to publicly admit, especially not in front of a teacher.

"Sir, I sent you an alert because this team here told me that one of their members has gone missing," Penny told Naruto, Weiss did not miss the formality behind her tone. She knew who Naruto was, she probably knew what Naruto did. So, who was she?

"A member's missing?" Naruto turned to face Weiss, his mouth set in a grim line. "If it is Ruby, Weiss, you better start giving me answers."

Weiss was about to do just that, but Penny beat her to it. "Oh no! Friend Ruby is perfectly fine. She and Friend Yang went out to look for Friend Blake. Friend Weiss here stayed behind." Penny put the finger on her chin, "Though I do not understand why."

"Ugh, typical Rubes. Pretty sure she dragged Yang along cause she couldn't wait for me to come." Naruto answered. Weiss was about to explain that they did not know - with certainty - that he'd show up. Penny just said that she was contacting a direct superior. Could have been anyone.

"Still, well done, Weiss. It's good to see that at least one of you would try and contact the teachers before going on a city-wide hunt for a _cat_ Faunus." He sighed, "It's like they forgot this isn't Patch."

"Well, that wasn't exactly-wait what?" She had shock written across her face, "You know Blake is a cat Faunus?"

The incredulous stare she got in return made her blush in embarrassment. "Weiss, she wasn't exactly _subtle_ about it. Like, she used a bow for fuck's sake. Didn't even bother with contacts, to hide her _amber cat-like eyes_. Some a-" He cut himself off and cleared his throat. "Right, well it's not my place to talk about that."

Confused further, Weiss decided to not ask any more questions. Noticing her silence, Naruto started talking again.

"Either way, I'm going back to Beacon. I'll see if I can ping Blake's scroll, actually get a lead on her." Naruto grumbled. He then looked at Penny. "As for you, go track down Ruby. Get her home if you can. If they refuse, give me a call."

"Affirmative." Penny acknowledged, shooting off in pursuit. Naruto himself turned and started heading back towards the city center. Unsure of what to do, Weiss decided to follow Naruto.

"So, mind telling me exactly what you said to Blake that made her run away?"

Naruto's words stopped Weiss dead in her tracks. Her heart skipped a beat, _how could he have known_?

"You work like your sister. You say mean spiteful things. You generally don't mean to, but it's second nature to you." Naruto spoke as if reading her mind. "Yet, both of you are left with feelings of guilt whenever you do offend someone. It's easy to notice."

"H-how so?" Weiss asked. Naruto started walking again, probably noticing that Weiss' shock was gone.

"For one, you were indecisive. You couldn't make your mind up whether you wanted to go back to school or chase after Blake." Before Weiss could get a word in, Naruto moved on. "Second, you look like a kicked puppy. That's _not_ a Schnee look. Trust me, I know your entire family."

"I do not look like a kicked puppy!" Weiss countered, making Naruto chuckle. "Also, I would like it if you didn't _assume_ things about my sister just because you've been in a tournament with her."

Naruto chuckled. "Really? Do you really think we knew each other so little?"

Weiss crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, how else could you know her? She's only been out of Atlas for the Vytal festival. She even works directly with General Ironwood."

Naruto chuckled. "Oh Weiss, do you not know what we have in store for you over this entire semester leading up to the Vytal Festival?" When he asked, Weiss finally realized that she knew scant little about the proceedings that would take place in the two months before the festival. She knew that the competitors were already assembling in Beacon. Now that she thought about it, there must be some reason why they'd arrive this early.

She got a look of shock from Naruto. "Wow, you guys really don't talk to your seniors, do you? I'm sure the third years are still around occasionally." He cupped his chin, "As a person who prides her intelligence, your lack of information is… disappointing."

"Can you cut to the chase?" She asked, indignant. Naruto still gave her that infuriating smirk of his, but cut her some slack nonetheless.

"Well, between now and the Vytal festival, your competitors will have classes with you," Naruto spoke, picking up some speed and forcing Weiss to catch up. "They'll be having lunch with you, living in the same building as you, sparring with or against you, all that jazz."

"So, you and Winter became friends by proximity? Sorry, but that's hard to believe." Weiss liked to believe that she knew her sister well. Even in her wildest dreams, she couldn't imagine Winter voluntarily wanting to be friendly with Naruto. They were complete opposites!

"As second years, we also share a few more things. In Winter's case, we shared missions." Naruto continued, allowing Weiss to put two-and-two together.

"Well, she was top of her class at Atlas, and you're regarded as something of a prodigy, So I guess I can see that," Weiss commented. "Still, hard to imagine you being any more than a co-worker to her."

Naruto gave her a half-smile. "Two months worth of missions, one of which lasted three weeks at a stretch. Trust me, if we weren't able to understand each other perfectly, there was a genuine chance that one of us wouldn't make it back alive."

Weiss was silent. Winter and Naruto did missions with that level of danger as second years? She knew that Winter was perfect. Her sister was already working with Atlas as a fourth year, but to see the kind of dangers she'd faced as a second year was still shocking.

Guess she didn't know her sister as well as she thought she did.

"Anyways, that's beside the point. If I were to guess, I'd say that you hit her where it hurt. The only way you could do that was if you talked about either her 'hidden' heritage or her past. I'm guessing you somehow combined the two." He spoke, Weiss could only nod. Naruto stopped and turned, putting a hand on Weiss' shoulder.

"Considering how secretive she is, it was bound to happen. Don't sweat it. Instead, take it as a lesson on what to avoid in the future." Naruto spoke, a gentle smile on his face. "If she wants to keep secrets, it only means that she either doesn't trust you enough or is scared that you'll treat her differently."

He then started walking again, leaving Weiss with conflicted thoughts. Deep inside, she already knew that her actions were wrong. Naruto had merely pointed that out. Like a real teacher, he'd also made one more thing clear. What she did next would decide whether they made it as a team or not.

On her name as a Schnee, she wouldn't let this team fail… difficult teammates notwithstanding.

* * *

Sun looked intently at her, "Have you told your friends yet?"

 _No, she hadn't._ She opened her mouth, "No, she has not." But she wasn't the one to speak.

The Faunus duo turned to Naruto in surprise, spotting Weiss trailing only a little bit behind them. His steely glare leveled in her direction stopped anything she was about to say in her defense.

"You know, normally, students don't go running off into a mega-city by themselves with an unknown actor after a small fight with their teammates." His tone brokered no argument, not now. Even Sun quailed under his gaze.

He crossed his arms, "But I supposed a terrorist like yourself wouldn't know anything about being a normal student would you?"

"You...heard?" She asked weakly. This was the worst possible scenario for her.

Naruto snorted, "Heard? Girl, Ozpin knew you were the Black Cat Assassin within hours of you applying to the school. You ever hear of the idiom 'Beware those who are old in a profession where you die young'?

Her blood ran cold, Sun had scooted back a bit while Weiss looked at her with undisguised horror. _No, I was wrong._ _ **This**_ _is the worst case scenario for me._

Naruto continued, unimpressed and uncaring of the reactions he was causing. "See, when I heard you were going to be on my precious little sisters' team… I requested the Headmaster to allow me to engineer an accident."

Her breath caught in her throat, her heart hammered, what kind of person was Naruto when his sisters were not around!? "He, of course, said no. Said you came here for a second chance and that I should give it to you."

Could she bolt now? If she used what Dust she had maybe… A pressure, unlike anything she had felt before crashed down on her, "You will listen to what I'm going to say, or so help me if you try to flee I will treat you like any other terrorist I come across."

 _Why was it so silent?_ She glanced around. _Where was everyone?_

The streets were empty, at some point the business had emptied out.

There were no witnesses. No reason for him to hold back.

"Blake." Her eyes snapped back, "I talked with your team, I realize your opinion of the police, and apparently your professors is quite low when it comes to our competence. Let me correct that assumption of yours."

He gestured to the empty streets, "Just because you don't see us doing anything, doesn't mean we _aren't_."

She could believe that after this confrontation.

"So, here is what's going to happen. You are going to take your new criminal friend and your traumatized teammate. You are going to board a bullhead and head back to your dorm room. You are going to tell your team about who you are and what you did." He glanced over to Weiss, who hadn't moved a muscle. "Then you are going to sit there and listen to Weiss' side of the story without complaint."

She swallowed, her mouth dry, "And if I don't?"

She regretted asking a moment later as the pressure on her redoubled and those cold blue eyes bore into her.

"Then you have a tragic accident." His delivery was without inflection. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a scroll. With a few clicks, it began to ring.

"Sir?"

"It's been handled, Sergeant, the rogue Huntsman has been taken care of. You can stop blocking the streets."

"Affirmative. Do you require any further assistance?"

"No need Sergeant, I have everything handled on my end."

"All right, thank you for your service."

With another click, the scroll went silent, and he slipped it back into his pocket. "I don't think it needs to be said that the three of you will not speak of what happened here. As far as Ruby is concerned? I found you, talked you down, and convinced you to return and make amends with Weiss."

At some point that crushing pressure had vanished and she could breathe normally again.

He motioned for them to start walking down the street with him, they all silently complied. "And as far as your history with the White Fang goes? You were a young girl that got caught up in propaganda and a movement larger than herself. A girl who when she heard her ex-partner was going to bomb civilians, fled to Beacon for a better life in repentance."

People began to filter back onto the streets by now, some of the adults thanking the group for handling the situation. Naruto smiled, nodded, and exchanged general pleasantries with the people.

Watching him almost scrubbed the memory of what just happened from her brain as if it was no more than a hallucination. The Nautro that confronted her, and the one smiling and telling jokes to random strangers did not fit together.

Eventually, Naruto had finished leading the dazed students back to the bullheads. Turning back to them he said, "Alright, I hope I made myself quite clear. Get on back to the school kids, I have paperwork to do."

And like that, he was gone.

Weiss seemed to realize that and quickly began to have small tremors.

"Weiss," the girl's head snapped to her, her pupils dilated, "let's head back to Beacon. Together."

Weiss continued to stare at her. "Like Professor Xiao Long said."

Thankfully that did the trick, and her eyes refocused, "R-Right. We should probably get our story straight before Ruby shows up."

Sun, who had been watching her warily, nodded.

They boarded the bullhead to Beacon.

* * *

He watched from the rooftop as the bullhead lifted off. _Dammit, that was stupid of me._

His anger had gotten the better of him, and he revealed information he shouldn't have. Hopefully, the kids would buy his damage control, and when combined with what that information was, they wouldn't spread it around.

He watched the hustle and bustle of the city below him for a few minutes. Running a hand through his hair, he chided himself. _Things must be really getting to me more than I thought._

Eventually, he pulled out his scroll and called Ruby.

After a single ring, her face popped up on the screen, "Hey Naruto! Sorry, we're a bit busy right now. Can we talk later?"

He snorted, "Ruby, I'm a Professor you know. I've already found Blake and sent her on her way back to Beacon."

Ruby somehow managed to look panicked, relieved, and exasperated at the same time. "I- But she- How?"

He snorted, her face was priceless, "Because Rubes, even if your heart is in the right place, sometimes it's best to let the people whose job it is to handle this sort of thing to do so."

She blushed and looked offscreen, he could hear Yang guffawing in the background. "Well, I didn't want to bother you…?"

He chuckled, "More like you didn't want to let Blake's most poorly kept secret out and let the professors 'know' about Blake being a Faunus."

Her eyes widened in surprise, "Wha- But how! We just found out today!"

He gave her a flat stare, "Seriously Rubes? She had reflective amber eyes, she had an obsession with fish, and wore a bow - that moved on its own - in the exact shape and position of a cat Faunus' ears. She was so cartoonishly stereotypical of a racist's idea of a Faunus I bet she would even hiss at dogs and purr if you scratched her ears." He sighed, "Really Ruby, I'm somewhat disappointed you missed all of that."

Her entire face turned red in embarrassment as she mumbled something unintelligible. Suddenly the view grew blurry as Yang's face was suddenly in the camera's view. A muffled 'Hey, that's my scroll!' could be heard in the background. He sent an amused smirk to the megawatt grin Yang was giving off, "She totally purrs!" _Because of course she does_. He shook his head in disappointment, for who he didn't know at this point.

He sighed at Yang's admittedly amusing antics, "And do I want to know how you figured that out?"

The camera shook as she coughed into her first, "Uh, let's just say it involved a laser pointer and some fish and leave it at that." _She's right, I'm not sure why she was using a laser pointer and fish before she knew Blake was a Faunus...and I'm not sure I want to know._ He shook his head again, _Really Blake? A laser pointer? Can you be more stereotypical?_

He couldn't help but chuckle, "Alright. Sure, why don't you head back to the dorm room? Blake and Weiss should be there already. Alone. In the same room. Together." He finished with a deadpan.

Yang rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, Bro. We're heading over."

He nodded, "Good. And uh, Yang?" She stopped mid process of handing the scroll back to Ruby, "We need to talk later." She nodded.

The camera blurred again, and Ruby was back on-screen and pouting, "Naruto! Tell Yang to stop taking my stuff!"

He smiled, he wished he had more time to spend with her some days, but needs must. "Sure, Rubes. I'll talk to you later, can you tell Penny to meet me at the bullheads in Vale? She forgot her scroll again, and I have an assignment for her."

She nodded in assent, "Sure thing, bye Naruto!"

The screen went dark as she hung up. _One down, one to go._

He let his hand drop to his side as he watched the streets below again. The rooftops were a calming place to be for him. Very few could make it up here, and even fewer could keep up with him... They gave free movement across the city…

He let the wind of a landing bullhead buffet him before bringing the scroll up once more.

He rung the number once and hung up after two rings.

He then waited for ten seconds and rung the number again. It was answered on the second ring this time. A smooth voice answered. "This better be good."

Any traces of humor had left Naruto voice by this point. "I wouldn't be contacting you otherwise. The raid on the SDC tanker, when and how many."

The voice sighed, "I'm not going to even bother trying to figure out how you know… as for the rest. No clue. The Faunus left today so either tonight or tomorrow. Contact _said_ twenty, but much more than that are missing."

 _Fuck._ Today was just shovel after shovel on the shitpile wasn't it, "Are you compromised?"

The voice paused, "No… I think not. The eyes turn inwards through, they do suspect _someone_."

He hummed in thought, while it rankled him to do it…"Alright, play it close to the chest then. We can't risk you getting exposed before the time is right. Do _anything_ to allay their suspicions."

The voice chuckled, "As you say. I'm no stranger to sacrifice, that shouldn't prove an issue. Is that all?"

"That is all for now, yes."

"Very well, goodbye." And the call ended.

* * *

' _Like taking candy from a baby'_ was a saying that seldom held much truth in execution. Especially so in Remnant, where anyone was liable to have both an active aura and the capability to kick a bodybuilder's ass. It was a saying that Roman Torchwick hated, but still found himself using.

Through, he will never forgive Neo for the 'baby with Laser Eyes' incident.

When Cinder tasked him with stealing a full shipment of Schnee Dust, he had called her mad, he had called her a bitch. Hell, he'd even gone as far as to call her a mad bitch. Then, she explained her plan. It was insultingly simple, but without a doubt would work.

Go around the city of Vale and start a string of dust robberies. Let the officials believe that they were facing a gang of small-time dust robbers. Then slowly escalate it over time to empty the stock. So, while the local police spent their nights prowling the commercial center of Vale, the docks would be understaffed.

Then Neo got caught. Her last message indicated their operation might be compromised, then nothing after that. He didn't hear anything on the news about her so he could only hope she only went dark, and that Hunters didn't get to her.

And Cinder had the gall to command him to ignore her and continue with the plan. _Fuck. That. Bitch._ Neo was a damn useful tool, one who felt she was indebted to him to boot so there was no chance she could be bought out.

But he couldn't see a way out yet, so the plan had to move forward.

From there, it was all an exercise in bribery and blackmail. Right now, they were heading to the docks in a Bullhead - courtesy of the White Fang - to make sure the coast was clear. Once they did so, two more Bullheads would come in and airlift the unguarded Dust containers.

' _Like taking candy from a baby'_ indeed.

Sure, there were other factors at hand. For one, who in their right mind would try to steal entire shipping containers? Who would be so brazen? So bold? So _daring_?

Well, Roman Torchwick was a man of character, he had a reputation to uphold at this point after all, and he hated to disappoint.

"We're landing, there isn't a soul in sight." The barely trained White Fang pilot spoke over the intercom. Roman took his word. After all, animals had better night vision. Plus, the kid was a hawk faunus. Double credibility and whatnot. _Isn't that how it works? Eh, they'd probably just glare at me if I asked._

"Good. Now, set this baby down. Don't dent her, she's pricey." Roman spoke as he got up from his seat. The White Fang mooks followed. Say what he will about the Faunus, they definitely took orders well. No questioning, no back-talk. Simple obedience. He smirked, _like a bunch of well-trained animals._

Now if only Junior's own mooks were this competent.

"Alright, boys. You know the drill. Spread out. Mark the containers that need to be picked up. Remember, pack as much Dust from nearby containers into the marked ones. Oh, and if you find someone, bring them straight to me." He ordered, giving them a withering glare. "I know you hate humans, but let's _try_ to keep this little adventure casualty-free. We want the police after us, not _Hunters_."

Little to his surprise, two of the Faunus returned almost instantly, dragging along a youngster wearing a janitor's dress. Torchwick turned towards the pilot and gave him a scathing glare. "Not a soul in sight, eh?"

The pilot had the decency to look guilty. "Must'a been in a building, boss."

"I swear, you animals should come equipped with X-ray. A fat lot of good night vision does us in an era of electrical lighting." Torchwick moved forward, meeting the duo and the captive a little distance away from the bullhead.

"Nice night to take a stroll, isn't it?" Roman began. The janitor wasn't even looking at him. That irked Roman a bit, but he could understand. Captured by the White Fang during a night shift? Well, there's only one way this story ends.

"I was just doing my job here, sir." The janitor spoke. He had a young-sounding voice. _Oh? A student-worker, then? Well, someone was going to be missing a hella lot'ta classes._

"Well, didn't your superiors tell you that today was a holiday?" Roman spoke, mirth in his tone. It was a habit he'd gotten from Neo, the enjoyment he got from messing with people was a headrush, and he had his diminutive companion to thank for revealing it to him.

"I-it's my first day on the job, sir." The boy spoke, and had Roman been the least bit empathetic, he would have let the kid go. Sadly, Roman was a firm believer in the theory of luck. Some people - like himself - had all the success in the world. Sure, he had skill too, but chance was his mistress. It had always been this way.

The kid in front of him, though, was probably one of the people that Lady Luck shunned. The first day at a janitorial night-shift, and he was already staring down the barrel of a terrorist's rifle. Even if he let this kid go, he'd probably die thanks to some falling masonry tomorrow, or maybe a banana peel two days hence.

"Well, kid. I can't let you go." Roman spoke. "This situation is rather… delicate, and I'd rather keep it all hush-hush, I'm sure you understand. So, I can't let you go. We're going to be gone in ten minutes, but you've seen my face." Roman sighed as he leveled his cane-gun with the janitor's head, he hated getting blood on his hands when it wasn't necessary. "It ain't your fault, kid. After all, who wants to be a janitor?"

It was then that Roman realized that the kid wasn't shivering because he was scared. He was simply trying to hold back a laugh.

"But Roman, I _love_ taking out the trash!" The janitor looked up and gave Roman a shit-eating grin that could make Mercury feel jealous. _Fuck! A trap!_ Roman tried to pull the trigger. He wanted to reach it before the _Hunter_ could move.

He failed miserably.

The boy was a class apart. He wasn't like little Red, he wasn't even like Cinder's terrific teen twosome. No, this was a thoroughbred Hunter, and he had come to collect his bounty.

The boy went to town on his 'captors'. He whipped his right elbow back, sending the attached White Fang mook flying. The other hand he pulled forward, pulling the other mook right between himself and Roman's firearm.

Roman was lucky he used a regular round. A dust round at this range would have hurt him more than his opponent.

Roman backpedaled as the Hunter shot forth, still using the corpse as a makeshift meat shield. The rest of the animals were now crawling out of the maze of shipping containers. _Crawling_ being the critical word. Chasing them was a whirlwind of blades directed by an innocent-looking girl.

 _This is getting fucking ridiculous, what the hell do they put in the water here?_

Okay, he _had_ to escape now. The Hunter chasing him was gaining ground fast, even though he was carrying a corpse twice his size. He had to use his ace-in-the-hole. Behind him, his pilot had been smart enough to keep the engines running. He shifted his gaze to the open bullhead door. He shut off everything, all his senses. The only thing he cared about now was the door of the bullhead and his freedom.

He vanished mid-step, bringing the Hunter to a screeching halt.

He took in a deep breath and shouted. "Get us airborne, _NOW_!" The pilot responded immediately, and within seconds, they were floating just-out-of-reach of the Hunters.

Roman looked out of the open door as the Bullhead continued its ascent. The 'Janitor' had dropped the corpse, and his hat had come off in the scuffle and chase. Roman's breath caught in his throat. _Naruto Xiao Long?! What's a champion doing on this pier?_

He smirked, _Well, no matter now._

He turned and offered a salute and tip of the hat to Naruto. "Well lad, you will forever remember this as the day you almost caught me, Master Thief Roman Torchwi-!" He stopped mid-sentence as the bullhead also stopped.

Roman turned around to yell at the incompetent mongrel flying the damn thing only to see his long-lost partner smirking at him. "Why-? Neo? I thought-" He did haven't time to finish his question as she snaked her umbrella handle around his ankle and _pulled_ , sending him slipping off the edge of the bullhead.

As he fell and cracked his aura-protected head on the pavement below, his vision blurred and the only coherent thought he had was _'Like taking candy from a baby', huh? Damn… that… bitch…_

A blurry shape swam into his vision, "Nighty night, Roman."

The last thing he saw, was a foot.

* * *

"Alright team. I'm gonna be honest, that was impressive." Naruto spoke as he slipped on his Orange Jacket.

Pyrrha allowed a weak smile form on her face. Tired, because holding down a bullhead with her semblance was no easy ordeal. Naruto had spent the entirety of the first-semester training two things. Her Semblance, and her skillset. He'd turned Pyrrha into someone more significant than she was mere months ago. While holding down the Bullhead had rendered her unable to fight, Naruto had cleaned up the other two incoming bullheads himself.

Ten dead terrorists, seven captures. No escapes, no property damage. It was methodical, it was awe-inspiring. They just saved all of Vale from becoming Dust-starved.

Neo scribbled something on her board and passed it over to Naruto. "Huh, what will I do with Torchwick? Well. I'm gonna turn him into Ozpin. Then, I'm going to interrogate him. If he co-operates, we might be able to cut a deal." Naruto then looked at Pyrrha. "Also, you're going to be doing this with me. I need to teach you how enemies can be strategic resources if used properly."

Too tired to speak, Pyrrha just nodded. Neo, convinced by his answer, took the board back with a pleasant smile on her face. Naruto looked at her and mirrored her smile. "Don't worry, Neo. If there's one thing I don't do, it's breaking a promise."

Naruto's phone rang. He broke eye-contact with Neo and picked up the call. "Yeah, they're dealt with," he spoke in a calm and calculated tone. "Seventeen of them. You might want to check in on the others. Your 'benefactor' might have disposed of them." he continued, growing a bit irate. "Yes, I tried to take them alive. Seven are in our custody."

There was a long pause as Naruto's mood continued to deteriorate. Whoever was on the other side of the line was probably not happy with the way things had panned out. "Yes, I know. I did what I could." He spoke, getting more and more irate. "I could have killed them all, it would have saved me both time and effort." His voice lost all emotion as he said this, and the gap in conversation showed that his 'threat' was taken seriously.

"Glad to see that you understand. Now, keep me posted. Bye." Naruto hung up and sighed.

"Who was that?" Pyrrha asked, and Naruto gave her a tired grin.

"Strategic resource." He answered. They could hear the sirens at this point. Naruto had already premeditated with the police. The captured White Fang members would go with the police, the dead ones would go to the mortuary, and Roman would come with them.

The only thing that concerned her was the press. There was already a journalist on-site. Faster than the police force, as usual.

Naruto looked at the Journalist and her camera crew. Of course, they couldn't film on a crime scene without permission. The smirk on Naruto's face told her that he saw a plan here. It was confirmed as Naruto walked off to greet them. He took them aside and had a small conversation with them. He then pointed right at Pyrrha, who slowly started to realize what was happening.

Then, the Journalist smiled and shook Naruto's hand, before ordering her team to start setting up lighting.

"What did you just do?" She asked, and Naruto gave her his trademark 'silent killer' smile.

"Hey Pyrrha, remember what I told you about me wanting to bring you into the spotlight?" He asked. Pyrrha hesitantly nodded.

"Well, better do your touch-ups now, because, in ten minutes, it's gonna be lights, camera, and _action_!"

* * *

It was an awkward morning for Team RWBY, as they all filed into the cafeteria mildly sleep deprived. They had stayed up all night listening to Blake's and Weiss' heavily edited stories, prodding them with questions. Thankfully, she and Weiss had taken the time before the arrival of the rest of the team to get their story straight. They wouldn't lie to the rest of the team, no...not anymore. But they had both agreed it wasn't lying if they just didn't tell Ruby about it.

Initially, as they spun their tales, Yang had _looked_ and _acted_ sympathetic. Ruby had been unending in her support for the two of them, it was something that made her smile even now. She could almost understand Yang and Naruto's borderline creepy devotion to keeping her out of the loop. _Almost_. Maybe she would be more sympathetic or understanding if it wasn't _her_ neck on the block.

Then Yang got a phone call from Professor Xiao Long.

Ruby took that opportunity take a shower.

And then she was left alone, in a room with Weiss _Schnee_. The urgency that had consumed them long dissipated. The truths revealed were bitter for both of them to swallow. Even with minimal interaction with her, just the sheer proximity had bred mild fondness for the Schnee. And now they both had to live with the knowledge that Blake was directly responsible for deaths in Weiss' family.

They went to a secluded classroom to have their chat, and they ended up being glad for it. Weiss cried, screamed, punched, and raged. The only thing she could do was sit there and take it. Endure it as a punishment for her sins.

 _Blake sat on the teacher's desk as Weiss curled into a ball in the far corner of the classroom and bawled her eyes out._

 _Eventually, the wracking sobs stopped, and silence infused the room._

 _Finally, Weiss croaked out her question. "...Why?"_

 _Blake shifted uncomfortably, there was no right answer for that. She could cite all the reasons why she did it, reasons Weiss with access to Schnee records had lanced through like a hot knife through butter. Eventually, she settled for the only one that Weiss would accept, "Because we thought we were in the right. We thought it was justified."_

" _And?" Weiss stared into her eyes, "Do you still think it was justified that you slaughtered my family?"_

 _"N-no," I began weakly, "Weiss, I wasn't lying back with Ruby. I regret_ _ **all**_ _my actions. I_ _ **was**_ _just a kid caught up in propaganda."_

 _Weiss shuddered, "I know…" She took a deep breath, "and that's what makes it so... so hard to hate you for it." Blake looked up in shock_ Wha? She _doesn't_ hate me?

 _Weiss continued, "My little brother he is… my father has fed him propaganda. He doesn't know better. I hope he can throw off the yoke like Winter... like I had, but…"_

 _Blake finished for her, "But sometimes it can be so hard when reality seems to give credence to everything you were told."_

 _They shared a look, they grew up on complete opposite ends of the spectrum… yet at the same time, their childhoods were so scarily similar when it was boiled down._

" _You wanted a second chance?" Blake was broken from her reverie, Weiss had at some point stood up and approached her._

 _Weiss stood before her, hand on her rapier, shaking. "I want nothing more than to ram my rapier through your chest. To avenge my family."_

 _Blake tensed, was this...was this it? Would only one of them be walking out of this room?_

 _Weiss shuddered and stopped, letting her hand fall slack. "But that won't bring them back. It would break Ruby, and I… I'm not my Father. Ozpin believed in you. Naruto… believes you. I-I_ _ **want**_ _to believe you."_

 _She stuck out her hand, "I want to put the past behind us. What happened, happened, and there's no point anymore in clinging to it."_

 _Blake pushed herself off the desk and walked towards Weiss. She grabbed Weiss' hand and shook, "Blake Belladonna, good to meet you. I swear I will do what I can to make things right."_

 _Weiss cracked a small smile, "Weiss Schnee, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. You can start by helping me end the propaganda on both sides."_

When she had returned to the room, Yang was waiting there for her. Ruby was asleep.

She saw the look in Yang's eyes but before she could get a word in a right hook put an end to any thoughts.

Unprepared for it, she went sailing out of the room and into the wall opposite. Weiss stood there, shocked by the sudden violence before she quickly gained her wits and shut the door.

Yang's luminescent hair lit up the hallway, giving her and Weiss a clear view _just_ how pissed off Yang was. A fact that was made even more evident when Yang picked her up and slammed her into the wall. "You fucking cold-blooded, murderous, little _bitch_! Give me one good reason I shouldn't put your face through the wall here and now!"

"Y-ya-yang I…" She couldn't get her words out, her eyes, her eyes burned like Naruto's with that cold raw _fury_ and that presence… like a drop in a bucket compared to her older brother, but it sent her mind reeling back to the earlier confrontation.

She couldn't breathe.

She couldn't think.

Meanwhile, her stuttering only fed Yang's fury.

She was spared, when a dainty hand placed itself on Yang's shoulder, breaking her focus on Blake.

Yang turned, "Weiss! Wha-" And stopped when she saw the look on Weiss' face. "But- She...You…"

Weiss shook her head, "Yang, that's enough. It's over."

Yang searched her features, desperate for anything that said differently. She found nothing. "I-I...okay." Like a snuffed candle, her hair went out, engulfing the trio in the natural darkness of the hallway.

Yang dropped her like a piece of rotting garbage and turned back to the room.

That same dainty hand from before entered her vision, she took it and let Weiss help her back up. "Blake…"

They both looked toward Yang, who stood frozen, about to reopen their room.

She still had her head and back turned towards them. "I don't know if we'll ever be able to reach an understanding like you and Weiss did. I may not have known them but...to find out _my own partner_ planned out and executed the cold-blooded murder of several members of my _sister's partner's family_ … I hope you understand where I'm coming from. When Naruto and I laughed about how family and Ruby came first before everything else… I hope you realize we meant before _**everything**_ else." She shuddered, "Bro said if you came out and did what you did tonight, I should give you a chance. So I will. But… You have to earn it. I _need_ to see you've changed."

She swiped her card and walked through the now opened door. "Good night, you two."

Somehow, that hurt the most. More than Sun's quick and silent distancing. More than Weiss' rage and despair. She had been, rightly, rejected by her partner. But she had a lifeline, her teammates were giving her a chance to redeem herself, and she wasn't going to waste it.

It was thoughts like those and doubts that she could make up for her sins that kept her in a fitful sleep.

She imagined the same lines of thought about her kept the rest of her team awake.

That same tiredness and determination to start anew left her ears for full view. As they filed into the cafeteria, she had expected to get comments...or looks.

She got none.

As they had lined up to get food, she had expected to be jostled or sneered at, or her tray smacked.

No one did.

It… it made things worse for her that no one did.

She had deluded herself all this time, that Beacon and Vale were like 'everywhere else,' only when she had broken free of some of the propaganda she had been fed, she self-reinforced what remained.

Every look she got was a suspicious one. Every glance was a look of disgust. Whispered comments were speciesism.

Only now, when she was too emotionally and mentally exhausted to care what others thought did she realize that no one _actually_ cared she was a Faunus.

She was a fool, and it only took nearly committing treason against Vale _for a second time_ to make her realize that. _I hope such revelations don't require that much in the future…_

They set their trays down and began to eat.

Suddenly shushing occurring had spread through the cafeteria, someone was pointing at the Holo-TV mounted in the upper corner of the room. Team RWBY turned to see a news report playing on-screen. Someone turned up the volume so it could echo through the mess hall.

" _And following the swift action of one of Beacon's own, a terrorist plot was foiled last night."_

The team looked at each other in confusion.

" _While unknown as to why Pyrrha Nikos was at the docks at such a late time, she nevertheless was at the right place and time to thwart a terrorist plot to steal several hundred tons of Dust sent Atlas and the SDC to relive the critical status of Vale's Dust reserves._

 _Her quick thinking saw a renowned individual, now a Professor at the esteemed beacon academy, to arrive on the scene and provide assistance. Accompanied with him was an Honors Foreign Exchange student from Atlas and a Guest Lecturer that the Professor has been hosting."_

They all know _exactly_ who that was...and likely everyone else in Beacon did too. That Guest Lecturer of Naruto's was well known for her mischief at this point.

 _"With their timely arrival, they were not only able to prevent any of the Dust from being stolen but also were able to capture seven of the White Fang terrorists along with one of Vale's Most Wanted criminals, Roman Torchwick._

 _The Beacon Professor gives full credit to the Mistralian, now Beacon, Champion, saying 'Without her Semblance, they would have gotten away for sure.' As she was also able to recover all three bullheads used by the terrorists. With only ten casualties, those being of solely White Fang, and a city saved, the eyes of Vale will be on her to see what the Champion does next._

 _We will be playing the interview with Pyrrha Nikos at the top of the next hour._

 _Now to Ollie, with a live press release from the Chief of Police."_

All eyes from team RWBY turned to Pyrrha Nikos, who sat there and blushed as the students in the mess hall cheered and gave various form of congratulations to the tomatoing Champion.

 _Ten kills? That… that has to be Naruto. And...Penny?_

Her head spun. She realized _how_ seriously Naruto took his job. He was practically an Atlesian Specialist with his professionalism when it came to this.

He... _he knew_ the White Fang were going to show up that night? _So that's why he Hunted for me immediately… and once I showed reluctance to run back to them he sent me back to Beacon to do something that he knew would keep me busy for the rest of the night…_

She could only shake her head stunned at how many steps ahead he seemed to be.

She worried her lip. He said even if she didn't see the authorities doing anything it didn't mean they weren't… but he never said anything about not _helping_ them… Maybe, maybe she could ask him?

Maybe this was her path to redemption in the eyes of Yang and Weiss? It… even if it amounted to nothing. She would have _tried_ to make up for it, and in this case, an effort was what mattered.

She had people to talk to.

* * *

Naruto watched as the students filed out of his final monthly lesson for the Semester. Neo had gone all out with her storytelling, with help from him casting his voice she re-enacted a tale from her time in Vacuo. _Even I don't know how true or false those stories of hers are_. He shook his head, and by the looks of it neither did his students.

Then there was the final student, hovering behind him and filled with doubt and uncertainty.

He sighed, "Something I can do for you Blake?"

She froze like she for some reason thought he didn't know she was there.

"A-ah… I-I want to help."

He turned to her entirely, "Oh? And how do you propose that? And what brought this on?"

Blake stopped shaking, and the uncertainty left her, "Because I have to do something to make that second chance worth it. And, and you know what's going on better than me. I… I have so many useless skills when it comes to killing Grimm. I don't want to hurt people anymore... "

He let out a breath, "It doesn't go away Blake, at least not as long as you don't turn into a monster yourself. I can't turn back the clock Blake, what's done is done. But..."

He could see her sag. "Show up on Sundays, I'll run you through the paces like I told Pyrrha: a lot more thought goes into killing people than Grimm, but 'Pointy bit goes here' stays the same. I can't help you become a Huntsman, that's something you have to do. But I can make you strong enough to do it."

* * *

 **Judge, Jury, Execution Arc - END**

* * *

 **Sneaky a/n: Well, that happened. That took...turns.**

 **Anyway, I've cleaned up all the previous chapters by the time this is posted. Nothing significant, just grammar and spelling cleanup.**

 **Oh and thanks to our new Beta** Fuyuriku.

 **CR a/n: O hi Mark.**


	6. A House Divided I

Roman cracked his neck and shifted around as best he could. Being chained to a chair and the floor made it somewhat tricky. The bright overhead light was doing him no favors either. The blood running down the side of his head and the sweat soaking his clothes were a testament to how long this had been going on. _However long that's been..._

The hunched man, who was concealing himself in the shadows, scoffed. "Gods above, you are the worst thief I've ever heard of."

Roman gave him a cheeky grin. "Ah, but you've heard of me."

He ate fist for that one.

Occasionally, they brought him meager amounts of food or water. Let him shit in an actual bathroom. It had all fallen into a rhythm: they ask questions, he gives them an answer, Hunchback punches him.

Hunchback was the bad cop in this routine of theirs. But they needed information, so of course, they needed a good cop. He looked over at the second man in the room, the one sitting across the stereotypical metal desk they seated him at.

Ozpin offered him a cigarette. He wrinkled his nose in disgust but opened his mouth for one regardless. _The nicotine would be a nice pick-me-up_. Ozpin compiled and placed it in his mouth without a word. At the offer of a lighter, he leaned forward to let Ozpin light it.

Ozpin let him take a drag of it before he steepled his fingers on the table in between them. "Let's try this again. What were you doing with Cinder Fall?"

He grinned, cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. "Ah well you know, it was two-for-one night, and I was trampolining her and Glynda."

Hunchback smashed a fist into the back of his head.

His face crashed against the table, crushing the cigarette. He spat it out along with a globule of blood and phlegm.

Ozpin frowned. "You're a real comedian aren't you, Torchwick."

He chuckled. "I guess that's why they call it the punchline then."

Hunchback cracked him across the face again.

Roman shook himself. _Oof, he punches hard._

Ozpin took a deep breath and sighed. "You don't like me do you, Torchwick?"

He couldn't help it, he snorted. "Don't flatter yourself. I don't like anyone."

"Mmm, with that attitude I can see why no one likes you _._ "

He rolled his eyes. _Too easy._ "Oh please, people love me." He smirked. "Just ask Glynda."

He felt the punch long after he heard it. His concentration had faltered for just a moment, letting Aura-powered fist strike flesh. That one would've sent him off the chair if not for the bolted down chains. He dragged himself back up.

"What were you doing for the White Fang?"

Roman shook himself and looked around, dazed. "W-what was the question?"

That earned him another punch.

His head spun. _Hunchback is getting better with the haymaker._ His wits were harder to gather each time.

His head lolled.

Ozpin leaned in, his face a rictus of anger. "What. Did. You. Do."

* * *

 _ **A House Divided - Arc II: I**_

 _ **Chapter 6: Off the rails on this Crazy Train**_

* * *

Naruto shared a bright grin with Neo as the two walked down the street. Other pedestrians looked on in amusement and respectfully got out of their way, being that Naruto _was_ walking backward, with his hands resting behind his head. _It's incredible what allowances people give you when you 'save' a city._

In his defense, he did need to do that to prevent another crick in his neck talking to Neo. "So, lemme get this straight, Roman wanted you to clean up this mess… made by the Fang?"

Neo cycled through several expression before settling on an indifferent face with a gesture of so-so.

"Ah." He nodded in understanding. "So it was a loose end that Cinder wanted to be cleaned up, one she dumped on Roman." He paused and looked at her. "Who dumped it on you." She smirked at him. "Which you ignored, because…?"

She stopped walking to give him a deadpan glare, and he followed suit.

He nodded in understanding. "Because it's not your problem if some no-name gets away. Even if he escapes, if you trash the place after it will look like you did your job."

She beamed at him and skipped ahead.

With a roll of his eyes, he turned around and walked after her. Naruto was not concerned that she would run off. After all, she had proven herself reasonably loyal to him since she had been out and about. Betraying someone who saved you from Vacuan Slavers helped, or at least helped him.

He meandered his way down the bustling streets of Vale, looking for the store Neo had described. The store ended up being easily spotted because Neo stood outside the entrance in her iconic outfit, rocking back and forth on her feet. For an assassin she was quite hard to miss.

Once he opened the door, she darted under his arm and inside to bask in the air conditioning.

The tinkling of bells alerted Tukson, who seemed to have been about to enter the back of the shop. Turning around, he greeted them warmly.

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade! Home to every book under the sun."

Naruto smiled back at the man. _Awfully friendly for a terrorist._ "Aight Neo, two comics max."

She nodded and darted off to the section Tukson had for them. As he approached the counter, Tukson leaned on it with both arms.

"So." Tukson cast a quick glance at Neo to see that she was, in fact, reading a comic from the shelf. "Not every day someone like you walks into my place. What can I do you for?"

Naruto waved him off. "Don't worry about that anymore. You can thank Roman's incompetence at handling people for being alive. I'm just here to squeeze for some info then we'll all be on our separate ways."

Tukson relaxed a fraction at that.

Really, he had not even planned on doing that in the first place, but the two of them were bored. "So, what _can_ you tell me about the White Fang?"

Tukson gave him a mildly insulted glare. "Even if I disagree with their current methods, I won't sell out my brother and sisters."

He groaned internally. _Of course, I get the non-violent fanatic._ Externally, he kept a straight face and gave a sympathetic nod. "Understandable, however you—"

The tinkling of bells interrupted them.

"The sign says _closed_ , you nitwits," Naruto commented.

He would know, considering he had flipped the sign as he walked in. Three pairs of footsteps, each footfall measured? No, whoever had just stepped in were no ordinary shoppers making a mistake. He turned around and faced his would-be opponents.

They had walked in with utter confidence, but from the hitch in their steps the second he turned around that confidence had seemingly abandoned them. _And why wouldn't it?_

"Oh, we're sorry. We just came to pick up a book we'd pre-ordered. Should we come back later?" The lazy drawl of a teenager greeted him.

Two teens and a woman whose age he could not place. Sure, they could be strong, they could be amazing, but they did not have an impenetrable shield of popularity. They were not the ones whose abilities were exaggerated to godlike proportions by the media. _Sure, they likely assume the media exaggerates, but the real question then becomes_ _ **how much**_ _._

They had no reason to pick a fight with him, and he did _not_ want to fight them in the closed confines of this bookshop. Too much collateral, and Tukson might end up dead anyway. Maybe they would just pick up the damn book and leave, perhaps they would come back later and find Tukson gone.

"We don't do book pre-orders," Tukson monotoned.

"Fuck you Tukson, seriously." Naruto shifted a few centimeters to the right, just in time for a leg to occupy the space that belonged to his head mere milliseconds ago. "When a group of wanna-be assassins walk into your store," he shifted back to dodge the follow-up spin, "and then make an excuse to leave it because they realize they are in over their heads, _you let them._ " He rolled his eyes. "I'm starting to notice a trend between being a White Fang member and having zero social savviness."

"Also, fuck you kid. Who preorders books in today's day and age?" He swung at the grey-haired teen. In a show of dexterity that would surprise a second-year student, the teen bent backward, dodging the blow and returning with a flip-kick that Naruto was forced to block. He paid for it instantly as his arms were jarred by the impact. He was sure he felt metal.

"Joke's on you, blondie. I don't even know how to read." The boy continued, trying to capitalize on Naruto's shock. It would not happen though, as Naruto moved closer to him, caught his incoming foot with his hand and rotated. The boy's momentum, coupled with Naruto's redirection, was enough to send the boy careening into the elder girl.

It was at that point that Naruto realized the second girl was gone. He felt a brief pang of danger before the familiar feeling of one of Neo's illusions overtook it. Before he could respond, Neo appeared between him and the edge of her illusion, where the dark-skinned girl had suddenly appeared.

"Another illusionist, huh?" Naruto asked. Neo gave him a determined nod as her smile started to spread. "You calling dibs on her, huh?"

Neo grinned as her illusion broke, courtesy of the teenage girl's shotel-guns. Her face contorted in surprise when she found Neo in her personal space.

"Illusionist, meet illusion sadist!" Naruto spoke as he dodged another barrage of kicks from the grey-haired teen. He had to give it to the kid, he was both stronger and faster than most Beacon students.

He was also incredibly predictable, and Naruto finally realized why.

"Wait for a second, kid," Naruto spoke, effortlessly dodging another kick. "You won't happen to be related to Marcus Black, would you?"

The fact that the kid faltered mid-kick was answer enough for him.

Naruto took the opportunity to jab a palm into his face, sending him reeling back. "Oh, so you _are_ related. I'd say you fight exactly like he did, without his experience or unpredictability, of course." The kid did not rise to the bait, neither did he confirm anything. His facial expression did all that for him.

"I don't think I like you very much." He spoke, his tone devoid of all its initial humor. Naruto smiled back, that trademark scary smile the news made him 'famous' for.

"I created a technique to deal with 'ol Marcus' kicks, you know? I was quite disappointed when I learned he'd gone and died before I got the chance to test it on him." Naruto mused as he widened his stance, shifting his center of gravity lower. He shifted the majority of his weight towards his heels, as opposed to his toes. He leapt forward and saw the kid's face contort into a smirk.

Just like Marcus' had, two years ago.

The kid shot forth with a leg-sweep. Had Naruto not been ready, this would have completely floored him, essentially ending the fight. It was too bad for Marcus' son that Naruto was more than ready for this. As their legs met, Naruto dug his other heel into the ground. The kid's leg connected with Naruto's own and stopped dead in its tracks. The smirk on his face disappeared as shock and fear flashed on his face. By the time he realized the error he'd made, Naruto had already pushed forward.

"Mr. Black, meet the Up Smash." He spoke as he used the momentum from his back leg, twisting his body to deliver his right fist into the teen's jaw from below. He felt something crack under his fist - likely the teen's Aura shielding - as the teen was deposited into the ceiling.

"Huh, that does sound better than calling it the 'Shoryuken'." Naruto commented as he turned his attention to the fight of the illusionists. He'd scarcely turned his face when he realized that the third woman was missing. His worries were reinforced when his hand shot out and - by pure instinct - caught an arrow right out of the air. He gave it a look-over, it was simple arrow painted black with one significant factor that differentiated it from other arrows.

The arrowhead was made out of chiseled, high-quality _fire dust crystal_.

It was then that he noticed the missing kid who he'd just punched into the ceiling, and that's when it dawned on him.

Both Neo and him were under the impression that they'd been fighting two opponents, that the third woman wasn't doing anything while they fought Lil' Black and the Illusionist.

Meanwhile, the second woman had escaped.

She had, but she'd taken Marcus Black's kid with her. _How?_

 _Shit, Neo was fighting an illusion._ None of their three enemies were in the shop.

Another arrow whizzed past, sparking and radiating heat, too late for Naruto to intercept. So Naruto did the best he could. He grabbed Neo and shot through the drywall as the shop behind him went up in a ball of flames.

He was flung away from the shop as he felt his back burn up. He landed on the ground, Neo still in his arms. Behind him, he heard Tukson shout something that sounded vaguely like 'My life savings!' but he couldn't care less.

That bitch had somehow almost ended up taking him and Neo out. She was dangerous.

 _Looks like we found out what she's been using some of that dust for._

* * *

Roman worked his jaw as blood dripped from his temple and sweat ran down his face.

He was glad for Aura because otherwise his jaw would have been broken from the abuse. _Jeesh, Hunchback has some anger issues._

He had to wonder. _How long has it been?_ _How long have we kept up this routine? Where was Neo?_ These are the sort of questions Roman asked himself as he spouted the first witty thing that came to mind.

Ozpin leaned forward. "Who's your accomplice?"

Roman nodded along and smirked. "Ah, her name is Fuc Yu."

Ozpin gave him a dead stare. "Really?"

He hummed in agreement. "Of course, she's from Patch."

Hunchback punched him.

Ozpin frowned and shook his head, "I don't like hurting you, Roman. Why can't you work with us?"

He snorted. "Right, so is that why you're having him do it?" He jerked his head at Hunchback. "Because your arguments haven't been overly convincing."

Ozpin gave him a pitying look. "I can have Rupert bludgeon you all night. Why can't you just give us a straight answer?"

Roman choked on air, "I'm-I'm sorry, I'm being beaten up by a guy named 'Rupert'?" He turned to try and get a better look at the guy. Unfortunately for him, the shadows cast by the overhead light did a fair job of hiding Rupert.

Ozpin rubbed his temples in frustration. "What did you do with the dust?"

As Rupert approached him, he couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

Naruto lay spread-eagled on the ground as he stared blankly at the ceiling to training room seven. It wasn't comfortable, it wasn't meant to be, but he wouldn't be here for lon- Voices echoed into the room as someone from the group opened the door. _Ah, there they are._

He continued to lay there as they all filed in and eventually took notice of him.

The door shut and locked, which meant it was showtime. With a flex and a crunch, he righted himself, and if the looks on some of their faces were anything to go by, suitably impressed the group and gave him a leg up on what was to come.

He took a moment to scan the crowd he had invited into his personal training room: Coco, Velvet, Ren, Pyrrha, Weiss, Blake, and Yang...

His clap echoed through the chamber, and their attention turned to him. "Right, thank you for all coming. Take a seat, this is basically going to be a class anyway." He had to hold back a snicker at some of their faces. They complied anyway. "Okay so, I called you all here because some of you have been training with, or have had your teammates train with me-"

"Yeah, speaking of training why are you so singed, Bro? Looks like you had a bad mix of some fire dust." Yang called out.

He gave her a dull glare for interrupting, but it was true, he hadn't had the time or motivation to change. _After all, the state of my clothes matters far less than how they were able to get the drop on me._ "Because, _Miss Xiao Long,_ I was dealing with someone's mess." He looked right at Blake this time, "Someone's mess that if you had gotten involved in might've ended with four dead Beacon students."

Blake at least had the self-awareness to cringe and look down, having realized what he was talking about.

Clearly, that had not been the answer Yang expected.

He continued. "Like I was saying, we've been at it for a while, so I figure it's about time I sit you all down and explain what we've been up to, and I guess to explain the system to you." Now that he thought about it. _How much_ _ **do**_ _they know about this?_ It hadn't been something he considered when he lured them into it.

He coughed into his fist. "But I suppose I should find out what you kids know first."

He nodded to himself as he scanned the group in front of him, they seemed more or less paying attention. "Weiss, why don't you start us off with Atlas Specialists?"

Weiss hesitated for a second. "Well, I don't know any more about them than the layman, but Atlas promotes them quite heavily. " Naruto gave her an encouraging smile, so she continued. "The specialists are an anti-terrorist cell within the Atlesian army. They specialize in taking down Human and Faunus threats with great prejudice. They're the best of the best, hence the name."

Naruto nodded. "Couldn't have put it better myself. You won't happen to know what most of these specialists are currently working on, right?"

Weiss nodded. "Well, their feats are advertised quite heavily in local media. They've been cracking down on the White Fang for the better part of the last decade."

Naruto's smile widened. "Do tell us what the specialists are most well known for."

Weiss gulped. "They only have one directive. Elimination. Specialists are only mobilized against well-known and documented terrorist bases. If they're dispatched, people die."

He nodded, satisfied with what she knew. "More or less yes. Atlas did the opposite of what the other three nations have done, and they propagandized the Specialists into a respected position." He chuckled and shook his head, "However, they are far more active than Atlas lets people believe. Specialists are the most well-funded division of anti-human Huntsmen that also boast the lowest casualty and second lowest turncoat count."

He sighed and looked to Pyrrha. "Which brings me to the other Huntsman division that's officially part of a country's military." They turned to Pyrrha to see her face morph into disgust. "Yes, Mistral's own semi-kept secret. The Defaecrum."

Yang's face wasn't the only one confused by the word, but she was the one who voiced the question. "The Dafe-what now?"

Before he could say anything, Pyrrha spoke up, "The Defaecrum, or The Purifiers. Mistral's Secret Police." He could see it all click in their heads as to why Pyrrha showed such disgust for it. Being mostly Vale-born themselves, it went against the idea of Vale for such a thing to exist.

She looked to him for permission, and he nodded for her to continue. "The Defaecrum are taken, sorry, _given the Honor,_ of serving the State at a young age where they are put through harsh training and brainwashed to serve."

She stopped and looked at him, he picked up where she stopped. "Like Pyrrha says, they have quite the reputation and are heavily frowned upon by the rest of the world. While unconfirmed, there are quite a few cases where entire towns appear to have been purged by them."

He gave them a moment while they showed various displays of shock and disgust. "Yeah, Mistral never exactly denied the allegations either, they simply act like the towns never existed, and the propaganda network is strong enough that most of the citizens are unaware…"

He saw the looks Blake and Weiss were throwing each other. _Interesting, I wonder what happened between the two?_ His scan of the rest showed they were continuing their initial vein of disgust, disbelief, disapproval, etc. Interestingly enough, Pyrrha was the least shocked, followed by Velvet and Coco. _Hrm, I bet there's a story behind that._

However, he was supri- "What the fuck!" - _Ah, there it is._ Yang shot up with her eyes turned blood red, "And people just get away with this? You said they killed whole towns!" Yang was obviously, and righteously, agitated by the information.

Again, when he went to answer, Pyrrha beat him to it. " _Allegedly_. The Defaecrum are very good at what they do, and with the full backing of the Mistral government they can edit history to make the town to have never existed in the first place." Naruto could very quickly tell there was a story there, not that it was all that hard with the sour look Pyrrha had. _Seems my crop of students are little more worldly than I thought._

He cleared his throat to regain their attention. "As Pyrrha said. Their connection with the government leads them to be the second best funded and the lowest turncoat count. However, because of how the government treats them...well, let's just say the government views them as replaceable and leave it at that."

He motioned for Neo to come out while they all looked like they had been force-fed a lemon. "Now, we talk about Vacuo." He could see they were all eager to move on and were confused as to where Neo had come from and why she was there. _Hate to break it to you kids, but it only gets worse from here._

He clapped Neo on the shoulder as she smirked at the gathered group. "Now Neo here is one of Vacuo's finest. Their response to the criminal element is very…" He wasn't sure the best word to summarize it, "...Vacuian."

He nodded to Neo, this had been the agreed on cover story in case anyone recognized her. Best sort of story is usually the simplest after all. _Thank you Vacuo for making it so easy._ She swiped her hand over her face to 'reveal' the brand, a capital M with a line through it, on her cheek. They, Yang especially, recoiled from the gnarled scar the brand was.

"As you can see, Vacuo likes to mark its special Huntsmen, who are oh so creatively called...The Marked." He got several deadpan stares from that. "Hey I didn't make the name," he shrugged, "But don't feel too bad for them. Every Marked is a convicted murderer or thief of significance."

And cue the worried glances at Neo. "Relax, Neo is ah…" he glanced at Neo, she looked at him.

She smiled beatifically.

"...loyal. To me." And cue the concerned looks from Yang.

He cleared his throat and continued, aware of the awkward atmosphere."Right, well it works for them. Sort of. The branding thing was supposed to be something about making sure there are no second offenders or something?" He shook his head, "it doesn't matter why. It's how they do it there, Vacuo has the bar none, highest casualty rate among the four. Being that they give no support to the Marked, treat them like fodder, and because they are all criminals they have a high level of distrust for each other."

He snorted and shook his head in disappointment. "In fact, the most common target a Marked is set after is another Marked who went AWOL."

"And now…" Naruto trailed off, unsure how accurately to frame it to them. He wanted to recruit them after all, but lying was the best way to self-destruct.

Coco, however, had no problem picking up for him. "And all that is left is Vale's Illustrious Hunters."

"Ye-"

She continued. "Who operate on a Master and Apprentice system to replenish their numbers. Volunteers only. Recruited from the top of the class, specifically due to their Semblances, or…" she glanced over to Yang, "from inside the family."

"Well-"

Coco interrupted him again. "On to of that, Hunters are expected to create and maintain their own information and supply network with minimal help from the government."

"Tha-"

Pressing forward she continued. "And while the casualty and turncoat rates tend to be greatly exaggerated. When it does happen, it tends to be a massive loss for the community. Due to their comparatively low numbers and separate and independent nature. Because they are left to their own devices one of the most common reasons for someone to abandon their position is a death in the network, especially if it was someone they were close to."

He didn't even bother trying to speak. Instead, he glanced at Yang who was now paying close attention.

Coco shot him a look of minor disapproval. "And while Hunters might occupy the position of some the most known skilled Huntsman they are little better than glorified mercenaries and assassins more often than not."

Naruto huffed. "You done?" At her nod of acquiescence, he continued, "I can't deny anything you've said. And it is true that we take...off the books jobs to earn money." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "But it's like you said, we don't have any help, and we have to maintain our own network...which includes making sure everyone stays happy with you."

He paced a bit, Coco's informational dump took control of the conversation out of his hands. "I called you here so you knew what exactly you'd be getting into. Technically, you aren't allowed to even start the path of the Hunter until you graduate." He caught Yang's eye. "'Cept Old Ozpin made a special case for me."

Yang grunted. "He seems to be doing that a lot for our family."

He hummed in agreement then turned his attention back to the group. "So, yeah. That's all. Just wanted to let you in on what your team members have been getting up and into...so you can help cover for them." At the flat looks, he got from Ren and Coco he shrugged. "Sorry, if you were expecting anything else."

He motioned at the door. "If you hurry you can probably get to the cafeteria for lunch." As they all got up to leave he called out to three of them, "Yang, Velvet, Pyrrha, let's go. I want to see if you got rusty over the break or not." The three groaned but went to get their weapons anyway.

* * *

"You guys take too long to get ready. I've seen entire armies get ready for battle in less time." Naruto spoke, jumping down from what was once their training room's information display panel. He really needed to get this place repaired. It wasn't a necessity by any means, but would still be nice to have the room's equipment working as intended.

"Yeah, but we aren't part of an army yet," Yang spoke as she gave both Pyrrha and Velvet a look that to Naruto was definitely new. Naruto couldn't help but smirk, seeing through her childish excuse. They had something planned for him today, he could _feel_ it.

"Bad excuses aside, I hope you're ready," Naruto spoke as he waited for Yang to pounce. To his surprise, she didn't.

It was Pyrrha who did. She used the steelworks under the flooring to accelerate herself. A product of Naruto having instructed her to learn new ways of movement with her Semblance. This let her levitate off the ground -mildly- and accelerate dependant on the amount of metal she had to work with. Sure, it wasn't a technique she could use out in nature, but that was just one more reason for her to become a Hunter.

Naruto intercepted her as he always did, with his legs. He knew well enough that if Pyrrha was able to touch his gauntlets, things would only get harder. Naruto kicked the flat of Pyrrha's sword with his right leg, disarming her. He followed up with a sweeping left kick which Pyrrha barely blocked with her shield. As she did so, her disarmed weapon shot out towards Naruto's head. If he'd been an ordinary fourth-year student, this would have been the end for him.

Too bad for Pyrrha that he was anything but a typical student.

He shifted his head and let the blade pass by. He was about to turn and kick it out of the air when Yang joined the fray with a devastating punch. Naruto was able to block it, but barely. Months ago, he would have never believed Yang to be capable of stealth, but here she was. She was using the chaos Pyrrha created to find openings. Once she found them, it was a simple hit and run.

There was only one problem with that.

Naruto jumped and planted a fist into Yang's abdomen. Yang's face contorted in confusion. She wasn't expecting Naruto to be able to counter, and he knew that. That was the fatal flaw in Yang's reasoning. Her tactics only worked on those who went down in one hit. An attack that couldn't even stagger Naruto was worth nothing more than a diversion. She was smart enough to know that…

"Oh, cheeky."

Naruto turned and deposited a kick into Pyrrha, who was trying to create some distance between the two of them. She got her wish, and then some as the kick sent her skidding back, knocking her shield out of her hands.

"Trying to protect Velvet so she can overpower me, huh?" Naruto spoke as he noticed Velvet fiddling with her camera. "Found something big over the weekend? A cannon or something?" He spoke as he lunged at her. Her weapon manifesting took time depending on the complexity of the gun, and he wasn't gonna give her that time.

It wasn't until he was almost face-to-face with her that he realized that she didn't come into contact with weapons of mass destruction on a daily basis. Plus, the uncharacteristic smile on her face gave her away.

"Oh shit." Naruto raised his guard as Velvet swung out with an exact replica of Nora's hammer. He felt the force of the blow, jarring his hands. The concussion grenade's blast wave followed, sending him flying back, right into Yang and Pyrrha, victorious grins on their faces, their bodies poised to strike.

 _So assured in victory, huh?_

Naruto channeled chakra to his fingertips and struck the ground with enough force to make his body bounce upwards. The energy was enough to not only shatter the earth but send him soaring over Yang and Pyrrha. The two girls had to take cover from the debris, and that was all the time Naruto needed to spring off a wall and dash up behind them.

Before they could react, they found his hands around their throats.

With a quick spin, he flung Pyrrha, and an unprepared Yang followed shortly, into the unprepared Velvet.

He acted like he was dusting off his hands and the girls groaned and rolled their way out of the tangle of limbs he turned them into. "Good plan girls, if I'd been your average Fourth Year - hell, average Vytal Tournament qualifier- I'd have been done in."

He began to walk over to them, continuing his lecture. "Just remember, Human opponents are less predictable than Grimm and while strategy and tactics can give you the edge or boost you need to pull off a win…" he shrugged, "sometimes people will just be punching way above your weight class."

As he approached the girls finally disentangled themselves and had arranged themselves in various states of disarray. Pyrrha had that burning determination in her eyes she always got when he pulled another trick out of his bag. Velvet seemed to be channeling him again to mitigate her feelings of loss. Yang… Yang was _glaring_ at him, red eyes and all.

"You've been going easy on us."

Naruto gave her an easy smile, "'Course I've been going easy on you, Sis. Unlike you, _I_ kept up my workouts," he ticked one finger, "and excessive sparring with people stronger than me," he ticked another finger, "and going through life and death missions…" he ticked a third one and gave Yang a flat stare.

Yang squired under his gaze. "Y-yeah, I get it. I just thought you were being a battle maniac." She looked away and mumbled. "Didn't think it'd make that much a difference…"

He snorted and even Pyrrha looked affronted at Yang's attitude. "Yang, I've only been training with Naruto for a short while but I know he's got me on the same escalating workout he does himself. I could probably beat myself at the peak of my tournament days now in a straight one on one."

She sighed. "I know, I was kinda worried that he was going to throw Rubes and me out of bed at 5am and tell us to hup-to."

He cut in there. "And when I didn't you relaxed. Until you stalked Pyrrha, then you trained with Blake and sparred with Pyrrha often right?"

"I-Wha-How did you…" She sighed, "Yeah, she's a sneaky one. Helped me with the ambushing thing." She looked away, smoldering embers of anger were clear in her voice when she talked about Blake. "Didn't know why she was so good at it back then."

He offered his hands to Yang and Pyrrha, ones they gladly took and pulled them upright. "Off you go you two, tell the cooks I told them to give you some extra helpings."

Tired and hungry they scurried off without much complaint. Leaving the quiet Velvet looking resolutely at Naruto. He sighed.

"You know you shouldn't channel me so much." He narrowed his eyes, "And how long have you been doing it anyway? Since Coco left? ...before?"

She shrugged. "Does it matter?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "And why not? It's a good stance. Confidence, both to bait others and center yourself? Protectiveness mixed with Reactive?"

"And deception."

"There's nothing wrong with deception." She shot back.

"That-" He ran his hand through his hair, "-that's not-" He sighed.

"Isn't that how you brought me in?"

He didn't have an answer for that. Despite it's technically simplicity Carrot-and-Stick is still a very effective method.

She stood up and stared him down. "You aren't a bad person Naruto. I was afraid and scared at first but," she sniggered, "Yatsuhashi spoke his attempts at wise words. Some of it even made sense." She smiled at him, "Crossing blades and walking a mile in someone shoes are a good way to understand a person, I've done both with you."

"I'll tell-"

She cut him off. "You won't tell Coco. You want my help, Coco would put a stop to it. Besides, we both know my 'innocence' is a sacrifice you're willing to make in the end. Coco did a lot of research, the Hunters haven't been too good the past decade or so and their numbers have dropped hard."

 _Redirection. Bait and switch. Carrot and stick._ He blew air out of his mouth. _Gods be damned is her Semblance scary. Is this what it's like talking to me?_

Ind the end nothing she said was refutable, in fact it had been something Naruto was keenly interested in finding out why. "You've made your point Vel, neither of us will say shit about this to anyone."

She smirked and turned to saunter off. "Later, Naruto."

He shook his head in disbelief and called out to her. "You know I'm upping your training for this!"

She gave a backhanded wave as she left.

* * *

Roman leaned back in his chair, glad his wrists were finally uncuffed. "And that's when your pet Hunter showed up and kicked my ass."

Ozpin raised a brow. "Hrm. You know Roman, we had you under surveillance. We know you have been robbing and selling the dust to one specific buyer."

"Really? Is _that_ what they told you?"

"It's a reliable source, Roman."

He snorted. "Yeah, well, I can tell you that _isn't_ what happened."

"Really? So you weren't working with the White Fang?" Ozpin was skeptical of everything he had said when he started 'cooperating' - not without reason, half of it was pure bullshit - but even that didn't stop Hunchback from beating his face in. "We have video footage of it."

Roman stared at the aging man, then at his brutish thug. "So that's what going on here? Going to paint me as some terrorist?" _And more importantly, where is Neo? If she was working with them against me shouldn't they have half the answers already?_

Rupert chuckled darkly. "Oh? A problem, Roman? Running out of jokes now?"

"Why does this feel like a setup suddenly?" His eyes darted between the two, something wasn't adding up to him.

Ozpin leaned forward calmly, apparently thinking he could capitalize on Roman's sudden nervousness. "It's simple: Tell us where the Dust is."

Roman licked his now dry lips. "And now I feel like not telling you is going to be the only thing keeping me alive." He saw the door open as Rupert's fist met his face.

"Hey! Hey hey hey." Naruto was looking down as he strode into the room carrying a cup of coffee. "I leave him in your care, and I come back to some domestic abuse."

Ozpin turned toward him and frowned. "Why are you here Naruto? I thought you said you would let me handle this."

Roman watched as Naruto walked over to his side to place the cup of coffee in front of him. He reached out to pick it up and smell it. Cappuccino, three cream, no sugar. _Neo told him my preference?_

Naruto paid no mind and grinned at Ozpin. "Well, a birdy told me some interesting information. Of course, I wanted to check up on Roman here too." He pat Roman on the shoulder.

Roman took the lull in the conversation to drink his cappuccino. _Ah, that hit the spot._

Ozpin frowned. "And why could this not wait till later? Don't you see I'm busy interviewing him?"

Naruto rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Oh you know, heard a nice little rumor. Apparently, Vacuo heard about how Wonder Thief here got captured."

They looked questioningly at Naruto. Roman fought to keep a grin off his face. _So that's how he's going to play it?_

"Turns out," Naruto reported with a straight face, "Candlestick here pissed off the wrong person and now has a Mark out for his body."

 _Which is absolute bullshit, I paid my 'debts' to all the right people._ Roman glanced to the suddenly _one_ that had been unsuccessfully interrogating him this whole time. _But these two idiots don't know it and what happened to Hunchback?_

Naruto turned to him, and he made sure to act appropriately fearful for the audience. "So how 'bout it Roman? You tell me where the Dust is, I help keep that little head of yours off a pike."

 _So, that's how this is being played. They don't know because Neo told Naruto...and the pet Hunter isn't as much on the leash as he lets them think...and yet, the other guy just ups and vanishes the second Naruto strolls in._ He knew a good deal when he saw it. "Sure, we've been holding the Dust at warehouse 12 on dock 19 down in the factory district. Paid off a couple fellas to forget the paperwork for it, you know, the usual stuff." Internally, he shook his head. _Somehow the 'good guys' seem to be less trusting of each other than 'bad guys'._

Naruto shook his head. "Wow Oz, are you getting senile? You had Candlestick here for a whole fifteen days."

He turned the back and forth of the headmaster and Naruto out, because the one person he wanted to see was here. Neo peeked her head through the door.

When she was sure, she caught his eye she gave him a thumbs up.

 _Huh, guess I'm backin' the champ now._

* * *

"Yang…" Naruto's voice trailed off.

Jaune didn't want to overhear their private conversation, but Nora was asleep, and the rest of Team RWBY was hunched over looking guilty while they played their board game silently. But on the other hand, Jaune kinda _did_ want to listen in, as Yang - and the rest of Team RWBY - were being scolded over the food fight that happened a few days ago.

 _The one where Yang punched us all through the walls of the Mess Hall._ So maybe he was bitter about. Perhaps he went a bit overboard Amping Pyrrha up, forcing Yang into a Rage to keep up with her…

Yang's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Look, Big Bro, I get it. We shouldn't have gotten into the food fight."

"Yang, I couldn't give a flying fuck about the food fight, it happens at least once a year. I care about the fact that you punched Coco Adel so hard she only just got out of the _hospital_."

"But!"

"And the fact that your fight with Pyrrha nearly compromised the structural integrity of the entire building."

"She!"

"Yang…" Naruto trailed off again. Jaune couldn't help but feel - _Uh, what was that Atlas word for it? Shandfraud?_ \- about it all. Her punches _hurt_

"She shouldn't have touched my hair!"

"Yang, we've been over this hundreds of times, you can't just break the bones of people that touch your hair! I understand you are proud of it, but you entered a profession where _dismemberment is common_ , there is going to be a day when your hair is going to end up ripped out, shredded, burnt or any other number of things."

And suddenly, Jaune wasn't enjoying overhearing the conversation anymore. He glanced at his partner to reveal she had much the same face as him. They really should be studying for the upcoming review test but…

"Yang look, just...Glynda's been on my ass about this. Even if she was able to repair everything in the end and there weren't any _permanent_ injuries… between you and me I think she's on the rag right now and won't be satisfied unless she sees something being done on our end. Just find Coco later today and apologize."

"...Fine."

Pyrrha had blushed, and Jaune looked away embarrassed and mildly horrified. _Things I never needed to know._

"And Yang? You promised to put more effort in. I do have a say in allowing Team RWBY to compete in tournaments, and I certainly will reject entry attempts unless I see effort from ALL OF YOU!" He shouted the last part, causing Nora to snort awake and the rest of them to cringe.

 _Yeah, I think he knows we were all eavesdropping._ He subtly shuffled to a random page in the book he was supposed to be studying, with Pyrrha mimicking him.

"So…" He began, "Pyrrha…" She looked at him in _that_ way again. Making his brain fire all cylinders with a suddenly empty tank. It used to be Weiss doing it but after his - rough - start, and lack of backing from his team, most of his false confidence had collapsed in on him. His attempts at courting her shifted to justify holding himself together.

Then the Forever Fall happened.

 _They say getting into a life-or-death scenario changes your perspective on life._ If that was true then getting into a certain death instance had changed _all_ their outlooks. Nora had become clingier and more protective, of all of them, and Ren hadn't stopped keeping watch. He always positioned himself in a direction the rest of them weren't.

he had only recently convinced Ren they didn't need to having a rotating night watch _in_ Beacon, and that was mostly because Ren's grades had started slipping.

Pyrrha, she had handled it poorly. Whatever she was doing in her sessions with Naruto had gone a long way to settling her down but… Well, he had woken up to her modifying a pair of steel capped boots to fit a boot-knife into each. Specifically, a pair of boots for _him_. He didn't mind, not really, but they did take some time to get used to and were a bit uncomfortable. But Ren had punched holes in any argument of why he _shouldn't_ wear the boots so here he was.

The less said about the various knives he had found on or near Pyrrha these days, the better.

 _Here I am thinking of things that happened weeks ago instead of actually talking to Pyrrha. Who is now staring at me with concern._

He worked his jaw and tried again. "So I was thinking Pyr, maybe we should do some team training?" _Brain, why?_

He tried not to think of the look in Pyrrha's eyes when he said that. Reading into it too much would either make him lock up or jam his mouth full of foot again. "Sure, Jaune, I think we would all be happy to do that, what kind of training were you thinking of doing?"

 _What kind of training?_ He thought in a panic, _Brain! Ideas! Now!_ Then it hit him. "I was thinking countering swarm tactics? And maybe some uh...more semblance training?" He said the last part weakly, remembering how-

"I thought you said you wanted to work on that on your own." Ren cut in.

Jaune rubbed the back of his head and gave a weak laugh. "Yeah, about that… I uh... Turns out I can't really use it on myself. Heh." Even Nora was giving him a flat look for that.

Pyrrha coughed into her hand. "Right, well I don't believe any of us have a problem with that," she turned to the other two, and they both nodded, "Why don't we do it on the weekends? Maybe Naruto will let us even enter the Vytal Festival."

He smiled. "Sure that sounds gre-"

"Sup Losers!" A well-muscled, bare-chested monkey Faunus shouted as he walked up to Team RWB.

Jaune looked to his team, jerking his head towards the guy. The unvoiced question was answered by a shake of heads, none of them knew the jerk either.

Ruby had looked up frustrated from her hand of cards. "Oh, hey...uh...you."

Sun blinked, taken back by the mild glare he was getting both tables. "Oh. Right. Heh, sorry." He thumbed at himself and puffed out his chest. "I'm Sun Wukong of Team SSSN, pronounced Sun, and this is my partner, Neptune Vasilias." He thumbed at the wannabe-cool guy standing behind him.

Ruby nodded, a bit more energetic now. "Hi! I'm Ruby Rose, leader of Team RWBY, pronounced Ruby."

"Weiss Schnee, her partner. Greetings."

"Blake Belladonna."

Neptune took that moment to slide up next to Weiss. "Hello, Beautiful. You mind if call you Snow Angel?"

 _Oh come on, there is no way she's going to let you-_

"Sure"

 _What?!_

"Seriously?" Jaune looked at Pyrrha and motioned at the light flirting Neptune and Weiss were doing.

Pyrrha looked at him questioningly. "Hrmm?" She looked up from her book and over to the duo. "Oh," she smirked, her tone light and teasing, "well you were sorta a big dork when you said that to her."

 _Don't read into it to much._ He smiled."Y-yeah? And what am I now?"

She leaned in and poked his nose with one hand. "My dork."

He went cross-eyed looking where her finger had been. "O-oh?"

She smiled at him again, amused by something. "If it will make you feel better we can do some light flirting too."

 _has crashed due to overheating._

"Wow." A suddenly distant voice said. "Velvet and Yang were right, that _is_ fun."

* * *

"Ten ships huh? Ironwood, you sure know how to make an entrance."

Ironwood turned around, surprised that someone knew the exact number of Atlesian battleships in Vale airspace, even though only three were currently within city limits. Once he saw the owner of the voice, he realized why.

"Well informed as ever, Naruto. Mind telling me why you know this?" He asked.

Naruto shrugged. "Well, I make friends fast and the people out on the RADAR deck looked like they needed a friend." He answered with that infuriating, taunting smile of his.

"I know that Ozpin isn't going to like it," Ironwood spoke. He already knew that his friend had issues with shows of military might. He could paraphrase the speech he'd be getting from Ozpin in mere minutes to 'Army bad, scare people.' Such simplicity had kept Vale going for years, but things were in motion.

They both knew that simplicity was no longer safety.

"Let him. You're a General. If nothing, you can claim that the military detail is here to protect you." Naruto answered as he started walking towards Ozpin's office. Ironwood relaxed a bit. While he and Naruto had different ways of going about the same thing, their end goals aligned: the safety of the peoples of Remnant. It was a lesson that Ozpin himself had taught them, yet had seemed to forget himself.

"You know well enough that no one would buy that," Ironwood grunted. "I didn't just become a General because of my good looks, you know?"

Naruto chuckled. "Morningwood, I know you really like posturing, but I've told you this before. You're mixed metal, and not all that good."

Ironwood grimaced. "That sounds rich coming from a fourth-year student without Aura."

Naruto smiled. "And yet neither you nor Glynda were able to injure me last year. Not for lack of trying, of course."

Ironwood glared at Naruto. "Naruto, we made a pact to never bring that night up in public."

A shit-eating grin appeared on Naruto's face. "We're not in public, Ironwood. They cleared up the corridors for you, our guest of honor." He motioned towards the empty corridor. "Before you enter Ozpin's room, Glynda will give you a flower necklace and a pair of sunglasses. Maybe, if you ask nicely, she'll even take care of your tourist-ey ass."

Ironwood's metal arm shot out on a reflex as his mind filled up with very mixed feelings of both arousal and absolute loathing. The punch he launched was enough to send a Grimm through a couple of brick walls. Yet, Naruto caught it without missing a step.

"You're too easy, Metaldick." Naruto chided as he hit the elevator button. Ironwood blinked. _Surely he hasn't' grown that much stronger already?_ He shook his head, the boy knew his history, his affiliations, where to hit him the hardest and how to get under his skin. He shook his head ruefully, It was his specialty.

The fact that he could physically, without any seeming flare of power, keep up with Ironwood's top-of-the-line, cutting-edge military funded, prototype, augmented prosthetics, on the other hand, was Naruto's braggadocio way of showing that he'd grown since they last met. It wasn't the growth that surprised him, that honor belonged to the fact that the increase had happened over the last few months itself.

The speed of growth was far scarier than the growth itself.

"I'd like to see how your cute techniques of manipulation will help you against Grimm," Ironwood grumbled with no lack of vitriol in his tone.

"We have your tin cans to fight the Grimm, Robocop," Naruto spoke, leaning on an elevator wall as the doors closed behind them. " I hunt tougher prey and unfortunately _smarter_ prey."

Ironwood sighed. "Glad to see that your opinion of our mechanical soldiers has yet to change," he spoke. "I expected Penny to change that outlook of yours, I was clearly mistaken."

Naruto was silent for a few seconds, possibly trying to give coherence to his thoughts. "... while I cannot discount that the mere concept of Penny is praiseworthy, the final product… Is a bit lacking."

Ironwood was stunned. "I beg your pardon?" He asked. Penny was a fully combat-oriented android that could rival graduated Huntsmen, and she wasn't even complete yet! _How could Naruto not find that impressive? Penny was the ultimate counter-terrorist weapon!_

"She's too predictable." Naruto began. Ironwood was about to launch into an explanation about algorithms and self-learning but was stopped as Naruto raised his hand.

"I know that she's smart. I know that she can learn concepts from scratch almost instantly. I know that she can analyze and counter an opponent's moves in a second." He answered, and Ironwood's confusion rose with each statement.

"Yet - in the end - she's still a machine… and a machine is always efficient."

Ironwood was dazed for a second. "Naruto, that sounds incredibly stupid."

Naruto shook his head. "I know it isn't the easiest concept to wrap your head around, so listen up." He locked eyes with Ironwood, no mirth present on his face.

"What differentiates her from a human is that she's not just liable, but assured to take the most efficient approach in battle. Every one of her swings is calculated, ever defense measured by force and time, every counter calculated before the enemy's attack is ever launched." He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Hence, I decided to spar with her daily till you decided to show up."

Now, Ironwood was intrigued. "And you'd have me believe that she was not able to beat you over multiple duels?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, that would imply that she was ever able to give me a fight worth calling a spar."

Ironwood retorted instantly. "That is bullshit. Penny can recreate entire fight-styles through observation. One's chances of defeating her fall incrementally over the course of a fight. All the testing huntsmen she was pitted against barely lasted ten minutes."

Naruto shook his head. "I don't think you understand, Metal-knob. The fact that she can recreate fight styled through observation and pattern recognition isn't a strength, it's a weakness."

Ironwood rose an eyebrow. "How so? Do tell."

"She tries to associate fighting styles with martial arts that already exist. Hence, she's likely to follow up any move I've taken from an established martial art with a counter what she _believes_ to be a follow-up move to it." Naruto motioned with a hand. "For someone who knows and mixes multiple martial arts, basically anyone who has informal combat training, this makes more openings than it closes."

Ironwood grunted. "That's all well and fine, but how many people do you know out there who fight like that?"

Naruto put a finger on his chin. "Well, considering most capable warriors I've fought over my missions, I'd say around nine out of ten of them used a mixture of more than two fighting styles." He then gave Ironwood a disdainful glare. "You do realize that criminals don't generally come from backgrounds that afford them the luxury of professional huntsmen training, right?"

Ironwood was silent for a few seconds. Naruto was insinuating something, and he understood it all too well. The only people Penny had been tested against were second and third years from Atlas academy, and almost all of them followed established martial arts.

What he had created was the ultimate anti- _huntsman_ android, something that was virtually worthless against the criminals she was meant to fight.

"Plus, she isn't all that strong either." Naruto shrugged. "Though that might be because she's a prototype, as she has repeatedly told me."

Ironwood chose to not comment on that. Naruto was a friend, but Project Coinage was an Atlesian secret… for the most part.

"She's a nice girl though. Might wanna tone down how chirpy she is, though." Naruto finished as the elevator opened up, revealing Ozpin's office.

"For now, good luck explaining to Ozpin why there are Atlesian warships docked in Vale." He spoke as he ushered Ironwood out, much to the General's confusion.

"Wait, aren't you coming with me?" Ironwood asked. Immediately, Naruto's face soured.

"Did you actually expect me to stand with you and explain the sudden and peaceful appearance of three heavily-armed warships to a man who believes that peace can be maintained by being an elusive, cryptic piece of shit? Get real." He then looked at Glynda. "So, you want a ride down, Glynda? Leave the old men to plot their nefarious schemes in a creepy clocktower?"

Glynda shook her head. "For the sake of my sanity, I'll take the next lift."

Naruto shrugged. "More space for me then. See you later, suckers!"

"Ozpin, can I just snap the elevator's cord?" Glynda asked with a straight face that could give the most professional of executioners an inferiority complex. Ozpin too made a show of swirling the coffee in his mug, at least pretending to think the offer over… hopefully.

"He's too useful, plus there's a high likeliness that he'd survive." Ozpin finally decided. "Plus, I think that was just him getting back at us for saddling him with the current terrorist trouble going on."

Ironwood finally spoke up. "Terrorist trouble? You mean what happened on the docks?"

Ozpin finally realized that Ironwood was in the room. "Yes, the trouble at the docks. Docks which are currently serving as a garrison for your troops, or so I'm led to believe?"

Ironwood's face paled as Ozpin moved closer to him. "Now, why don't you take a seat, James, and maybe _try_ to explain why there's an army at my front door?"

Ironwood cursed Naruto one last time under his breath before realizing that this was most definitely going to be a long and tedious Vytal festival.

* * *

Blake's nerves had been fraying for several days now. It certainly wasn't helped at the moment by the occasionally skittish look from Sun or his occasional glances of interest. Or her teammates having nagged her to play whatever ridiculous game they were supposed to be playing.

But frankly? The flirting between Weiss and Neptune, with the background teasing from Pyrrha at Jaune, was where her endurance ended.

"Right, well. If anyone needs me, I'm going to go take a walk. A long one." Before anyone could say otherwise she - in a feat of athletic prowess - leaned back, reached over her head to grab the railing behind her, flipped out of her chair, and over the railing to drop down to the first floor.

After sticking her three-point landing, she stretched out and wandered off.

Naruto's words had been eating at her.

" _Do you really think the White Fang was right?"_

 _She had only just entered his room, and that was what she was greeted with. She hadn't known what to expect when she took up his offer to try and help her turn away from the path she walked but this had not been that._

" _What?" She was about to turn around and leave when she felt_ _ **it**_ _. That cold, dark, sickening feeling that froze her body._

" _You're going to sit down, . You are going to answer my question. You are going to try to answer every question I pose to you._

 _"Or?" She regretted asking for the feeling redoubled._

" _Or I make sure that a terroristic assassin stops being a security concern." She finally looked at him and regretted it, his eyes burned cold._

" _O-okay." and so she sat on the only armchair in the room while Naruto occupied the couch._

 _The pressure abated immediately, and she was able to relax into the comfortable chair. Naruto did as well, sprawling out on the couch and resting his head on the other end. He made a vague gesture in the air. "So?"_

 _ **Do I really think the White Fang was right?**_ _She pondered it like she was_ _ **asked**_ _and came to the same answer she always did. "Of course."_

 _She flinched at the retaliation that never came. Instead, she was treated to a long-suffering sigh. "Of course you do. Alright, so then what's the purpose of the White Fang?"_

 _The answer was automatic. "To bring equality to Faunus."_

 _He hummed. "And how do they go about this?"_

 _That was an awkward question for her. Not because it was hard to answer but because Adam's way of answering it would only strengthen whatever point Naruto was going to make. They sat in silence as she thought of the best way to work it, eventually settling on, "...Peace through Power."_

 _He actually raised his head, and his eyebrow, at that and I blushed. "That is far more flowery than what I've heard." He lowered his head back to the couch's armrest. "Peace through Power only works when the public is sympathetic."_

" _Do you know why that is?"_

 _She was getting irritated by this. "What does this have to do with killing Grimm or retiring from assassinations?"_

 _Naruto waved her off. "Nothing, everything. You tell me, what does justification have to do with terror bombings?"_

 _She didn't have an answer for that. After all, she had argued with Adam on it._

" _That's what I thought. So, what about for assassinations?"_

 _She shifted in her seat. If it had been even a few months ago, she would have jumped up to justify them as 'getting back at their oppressors' but now… "I… don't know anymore."_

 _He hummed. "Talked with Weiss, did you? Put some backstory, some humanity, back into your targets?"_

 _She slumped in her seat. Her talks with Weiss had indeed done that. While a small part of her still wanted to justify each kill with fire and fury, she also knew that the people she killed_ _ **didn't**_ _have much to do with actual Faunus oppression. More so they were just easy targets that would hurt the people they thought were responsible, or to instill fear in the communities of 'oppressors'._

 _She recalled the meeting that he had earlier with there team. "Earlier today… Coco accused you of being a glorified Hitman, and you didn't deny it." It had confused her slightly. Here he was lecturing her on morality, but he did the same as she did but for money…?_

" _Yeah." He didn't even try to deny it. "But I'm not part of a violent cult that indoctrinated its members to believe that violence against specific groups of people was okay because it 'advanced' the cults 'objectives' of 'freeing' the Faunus." He even did the air quotes, she cringed. When he put it like that it made the White Fang sound far more nefarious._

 _He pushed himself up so he could look at her. "You know the kind of people I go after Blake? Murders, rapists, kidnappers, drug lords, slavers...true scum of the society we live in. And as much as I hate politicians and their honeypots, killing them isn't how you change people's opinions for the better."_

 _ **What did any of this have to do with killing Grimm?**_ _She thought again how this could possibly relate to what she asked for when she came to him for help._

 _He sighed. "All right, clearly you aren't picking up what I'm putting down. You aren't going to have cohesiveness with your team until you drop the sympathy for a_ _ **Terror Group**_ _look, I understand they used to be peaceful and that they actually did quite a bit for getting the public's attention on the treatment of Faunus after the war."_

 _He blew air out and ran a hand through his hair. "You can't let your past affiliations cloud your judgment. What happens, Blake, if your team is sent out on a mission to clear an area of Grimm and you find White Fang planning some sorta terror attack? Or storing supplies they raided? Or holding hostages? Are you just going to blow your stealth and confront them openly? Put your teammates at risk to satisfy your nostalgia?"_

 _"I…" She didn't know how to answer that. Naturally, she wouldn't put her team at risk… is what she would have liked to believe but, couldn't the others see the_ _ **Truth**_ _like she had and put an end to whatever madness Adam had concocted that time?_

 _Naruto sighed and flopped back to laying down on the couch. "This won't be something solved in a day, Blake. Or a week. Or a month. It's harder to deprogram yourself than it is to program yourself. Harder by miles." He murmured the last bit. "...why do you think Hunters have such a high turncoat and death count…"_

 _It left an awkward silence between the two._

" _Blake, do me this would you? Look this stuff up. Talk to Weiss about the_ _ **actual**_ _conditions of the SDC mines and their Faunus workforce. Look up the public perceptions over time of Faunus and how it's shifted year by year. Governments love keeping census data of this stuff."_

 _Blake nodded,_ That...that is reasonable.

 _Naruto sighed again. "We're done here for today Blake. Just… try to work with your team more alright? Before you or they end up as another statistic taught in class."_

Blake stared at the Memorial Wall of the last four generations of Huntsman. _I must have wandered here while I was thinking_.

She couldn't help but notice just how many Teams were listed as full KIA. _You have to be a little off to pick this profession. Just how many of these were because of baggage a team member never dealt with that came back to bite them?_

She dragged her hand across the memorial eventually reaching the Teams that didn't graduate yet.

The O in Team ORNJ was filled in.

She hitched at that. Naruto had always been overly aggressive with her, she initially thought it was because he was just overprotective of Ruby, but now… _Maybe he's speaking from experience. Perhaps it was his baggage that he couldn't let go of._ She couldn't know for sure, it could have been anyone on his team.

 _It could have even been O._ A part of her brain whispered.

She tapped on the screen to highlight Team ORNJ, then again to highlight the only profile provided.

 _ **Name: Ochre Neul**_

 _ **Nickname: Huntress of Flames**_

 _ **Age: 21**_

 _ **Country: Atlas**_

 _ **Weapon: Fire-Dust Whip**_

 _ **Semblance: Rising Flames**_

 _ **End of Hunt: Agustine 5th, 2071**_

 _ **Cause: White Fang Ambush**_

 _Oh._ Blake backed away from the profile, even if she hadn't been connected to it it still felt accusatory. _O-or maybe we weren't like his team at all._

* * *

"She's smiling. She can't possibly be happy about this, can she?"

It was a simple question, and Mercury had a simple reason to ask it. Emerald had known Cinder far longer than him, yet her current behavior came as a surprise to her oldest supporter.

"I'm just as confused as you are, Merc." She spoke, trying to keep her eyes away from the turban of bandages that was his head. The last thing she wanted to do right now was burst into laughter.

Primarily when they'd just been outclassed by a variable they didn't even know existed.

"Oh my dears," Cinder spoke, walking up to her two 'partners' "I'm smiling because of Naruto Xiao Long!"

"Why though? He isn't that good looking, plus there's also the fact that he tried to outright kill us." Mercury countered, still noticeably sore about his loss to the blonde champion.

"Oh Mercury, if he wanted to kill you, we wouldn't be having this conversation," she spoke, that strange smile still ghosting over her features. "He was testing you, probably wanted to capture you. Of course, I wouldn't allow that."

"Plus, we can now say with utmost certainty that Roman and his pet are no longer loyal to us." She finished, taking a seat.

Mercury put a hand on his chin reflexively and winced. "And I don't see how any of that would make you smile. Sure, Roman didn't know the extent of our plan, but he did know enough to make sure we can't do what we originally planned to." He sighed. "Plus, we've lost two people who were a damned sight better at what they did than these dime-a-dozen White Fang mooks."

Cinder chuckled, confusing Mercury further. "Mercury, dear Mercury. When we came to this city, we came with the certainty that Vale would fall by Fall." Her smile grew as she held the injured boy's gaze.

"That fact does not change."

She leaned back in her chair and the pressure that had built up collapsed. Emerald let go of a breath she didn't even know she was holding. She saw Mercury do the same. Such was Cinder's presence.

… Even though it paled in front of Naruto's.

"What will change is our method of approach." Cinder spoke, her smile disappearing. "We will not have a man on the inside anymore, nor do we have an illusionist who excels at physical illusions."

She then sighed. "Our identities are known, and we have no chance of infiltrating the Vytal festival. As much as I trust in my abilities in combat, I'd rather not fight Naruto or Ozpin head-on…" She smirked, "At least not yet."

She motioned around them, gesturing to the many containers of dust that surrounded them. "What we do have is a few hundred tons of dust and a city with a bustling underworld."

"Our approach changes, our end goal does not."

Cue the return of her smile. Finally, Emerald had enough. "Why are you so happy about it? Isn't this just harder for us?" she asked.

" _She_ told me that Ozpin was much too naive, _She_ told me that Ironwood was much too paranoid. _She_ told me that this would be a guaranteed success." She spoke, her smile growing with each statement.

"Naruto, though, has suddenly made this game interesting again. That's what makes me so happy."

Emerald was silent for a while. To see the ordinarily efficient and pragmatic Cinder be reduced to an ecstatic youth at the mere promise of a challenge was new to her.

Yet, the feeling was contagious, and she couldn't help but feel it. Beacon was going down hard, and Naruto would go down with it… eventually.

Till that time, things now promised to be a lot more interesting, and while a part of her was scared, another was ecstatic. She didn't know which one to listen to…

… and that was fine with her.

* * *

 **Chapter END**

* * *

 **Sneaky A/N: Back at it again with my incompetence to bring you a new chapter. No this story isn't dead, sometimes life punches you in the dick, and all you can do is say "another round please!"**

 **Anyway, more related to the story I'm sure you've noticed we are diverging from canon. Yeah, from here on out canon will be meaning less and less, and consequently, that means we will need to pace the story waaay slower. The pacing from the previous Arc was a joint decision between CruelRuin and me where there weren't enough butterfly effects really building up to directly affect canon(yet), and we didn't want the fic dying a slow death of canonical rehashing.**

 **I don't typically ask for this, but I would like some opinions on how it handles things from here on out. Would you guys like to see more of Naruto past as interlude chapters? Or a full out flashback arc? Do you want the omakes as separate chapters? Posted elsewhere? Or eliminated?**

 **And most importantly: What's your opinion on the steps of divergence present?**


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